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1 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

Agricultural  Experiment  Station 


BULLETIN  No.  140 


DAIRY    SUGGESTIONS    FROM    EUROPEAN 

CONDITIONS    AS    SEEN    IN    THE 

BRITISH   ISLES,   HOLLAND 

AND     DENMARK 


BY  WILBER  J.  FRASER  AND  ROYDEN  E.  BRAND 


URBANA,   ILLINOIS,   OCTOBER,    1909 


SUMMARY  OF  BULLETIN  No.  140 

1.  Dairying  in  England  is  confined  largely  to  the  production  of  milk  by 
milking  Short-Horns.     The  greater  portion  of  the  milk  is  used  for  direct  con- 
sumption,— most  of  the  remainder  being  converted  into  sweet  cream  butter-  in 
farm  dairies.  •  Page  462 

2.  Dairying  in  Ireland  is  limited  almost  exclusively  to  milking  dual  purpose 
cows  thru  the  summer.  Page  469 

3.  Dairying  in  Scotland  is  primarily  confined  to  the  making  of  cheese  in 
the  farm  dairy.    The  excellence  of  the  producing  Ayrshire  and  the  high  quality 
of  the  cheese  are  the  points  of  interest  to  American  dairymen.  Page  472 

4.  British  Agricultural  Shows  are  conducted  for  the  sole  purpose  of  stimu- 
lating interest  in  agriculture.  Page  481 

5.  Dairying  in  Holland  is  a  grass  and  hay  proposition.     Their  dairy  cattle 
have  a  great  capacity  for  roughage,  which,  with  but  a  small  amount  of  oil  cake, 
enables  them  to  produce,  economically,  a  large  amount  of  milk.     Cheese  is  the 
main  dairy  product,  and  is  made  both  on  the  farm  and  in  cooperative  factories. 
Some  butter  is  also  made  in  these  factories.  Page  485 

6.  Dairying  in  Denmark  is  the  chief  occupation  of  the  people.     It  is  con- 
ducted in  a  more  intensive  manner  than  in  any  other  country  in  the  world. 
Dairy  cows  of  high  efficiency  produce  milk  which  is  made  into  butter  of  excel- 
lent quality  in  cooperative  creameries.  Page  503 

7.  Final  conclusions.     The  uniformly  high  quality  of  the  dairy  cattle, 
their  economical  feeding,  and  the  care  taken  of  them  and  their  products 
were  the  conspicuous  things,  and  as  these  four  points  are  the  essentials  of 
dairying,  the  American  dairymen  can  and  should  learn  lessons  from  the 
dairymen  of  Ayrshire,  Holland  and  Denmark.     In  all  the  dairy  districts 
visited  these  points  stood  out  prominently,  and  need  to  be  emphasized  in 
American  dairying.  Page  521 


460 


DAIRY    SUGGESTIONS    FROM    EUROPEAN 

CONDITIONS    AS    SEEN    IN    THE 

BRITISH    ISLES,   HOLLAND 

AND    DENMARK* 

BY  WILBER  J,  FRASER,  CHIEF  IN  DAIRY   HUSBANDRY 
AND  ROYDEN  E.  BRAND,  ASSISTANT  IN  DAIRY  HUSBANDRY 

A  study  of  the  dairy  conditions  of  Illinois  shows  conclusively 
that  the  dairymen  are  not  getting  the  profits  they  should  from  the 
money  and  labor  invested  in  the  business  of  producing  milk.  Since 
there  are  dairy  sections  in  Europe  where  they  are  feeding  American 
grown  grain  to  their  cows  and  producing  dairy  products  which  are 
sold  on  European  markets  in  competition  with  ours,  it  is  important 
for  the  American  dairymen  to  know  what  is  wrong  with  our  methods, 
and  the  details  of  the  system  that  permits  profitable  dairying  on  land 
worth  from  five  to  ten  times  as  much  as  that  in  the  Central  West. 

This  bulletin  is  the  result  of  a  summer  spent  in  making  a  detailed 
study  of  the  methods  employed  in  the  production  of  milk  on  the  farms 
of  the  intensive  dairy  countries  of  Great  Britain,  Holland,  and  Den- 
mark. The  main  purpose  in  the  study  was  to  look  for  points  in  which 
European  dairymen  excel.  This  was  a  second  visit  for  the  Chief  in 
Dairy  Husbandry,  who  eight  years  before  noted  the  important  features 
at  that  time,  and  the  observations  of  the  first  visit,  coupled  with  the 
more  mature  and  deliberate  opinions  of  the  second,  are  herewith  com- 
piled. While  many  of  the  foreign  conditions  are,  of  course,  vastly 
different  from  ours,  and  we  cannot  copy  all  of  their  methods  directly, 
the  underlying  principles  of  dairying  are  the  same  the  world  over,  and 
the  high  points  of  their  success  are  uniformly  good  cows,  economical 
feeding  and  care,  and  sanitary  methods,  resulting  in  dairy  products  of 
high  quality.  The  observance  or  non-observance  of  these  points  make 
the  difference  between  success  and  failure,  and  are  of  vital  importance 
to  all  American  dairymen. 


*The  cuts  for  this  bulletin  were  made  from  photos  taken  by  the  authors. 


461 


462 


BULLETIN  No.  140 


[October, 


DAIRYING  IN  THE  BRITISH  ISLES 

ENGLAND 


In  England  the  greater  part 
of  the  land  is  owned  by  noble- 
men, who  care  quite  as  much 
for  beauty  as  for  profit,  in 
consequence  of  which  great 
attention  is  paid  to  the  artistic 
appearance  of  the  farms,  and 
much  pride  is  taken  in  keeping 
everything  neat  and  orderly. 
No  fence  corners  or  hedge 
rows  are  left  to  grow  up  with 
weeds,  nor  machinery  allowed  to  stand  in  the  fields.  England  certainly 
possesses  a  charm  that  is  all  her  own.  The  larger  portion  of  the  country 
is  in  grass,  and  neatly  trimmed  hedges  divide  the  beautiful,  undulating 
pastures  and  meadows  into  small  fields,  where  numerous  clumps  of 
trees  are  allowed  to  grow.  Covering  the  whole  country  is  a  network  of 
winding  macadamized  roads  lined  on  both  sides  with  hedge  rows  and 
trees,  and  leading  thru  the  fields  in  every  direction  are  foot  paths.  The 
heather- covered  hills,  vine-clad  cottages,  and  cattle  dotting  the  pas- 
tures, make  a  beautiful  picture,  not  soon  forgotten. 


RURAL  ENGLAND. 


A  TYPICAL  ENGLISH  LANDSCAPE.     MILKING  SHORT-HORNS  AT  PASTURE. 


FARM  MANAGEMENT 

The  farms  vary  in  size  from  fifty  to  three  hundred  and  fifty 
acres,  averaging  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  and  rent  for 
from  $2.50  to  $10  per  acre,  depending  upon  the  soil.  Their  valuation 
is  considered  to  be  thirty  times  the  rental.  These  farms  are  often 
rented  by  the  same  family  from  generation  to  generation,  and  it  is  this 
stability  which  makes  the  English  farmer  such  a  successful  breeder  of 


1909] 


DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS 


463 


live  stock.  The  English  renter  must  not  be  confused  with  the  European 
peasant;  he  is  usually  a  well-to-do  and  well-educated  man,  comfort- 
ably situated,  contented  with  his  lot,,  and  his  heart  is  in  his  work. 

Climatic  conditions  affect  the  crops  grown,  and  while  there  is 
more  uniformity  of  temperature,  there  being  neither  intense  heat  nor 
cold,  yet  very  little  corn  can  be  raised.  On  the  other  hand,  grass 
grows  abundantly,  as  the  rainfall  is  plentiful  and  well  distributed,  and 

for    this    reason    the    greater  

part  of  the  country  is  in  pas- 
ture or  meadow,  only  a  com- 
paratively small  portion  being 
under  cultivation.  There  is 
also  a  growing  tendency  to 
have  more  pasture  and  less 
tillable  land,  owing  to  the  diffi- 
culty with  which  labor  is  ob- 
tained. Good  permanent  grass 
land  is  higher  priced  than  ara- 
ble land.  Agricultural  condi- 
tions vary  in  England,  as  in 
other  countries,  and  it  natur-  HEAVY  ENGLISH  CART  COMMONLY  USED  ON 
ally  follows  that  one  section  THE  DAIRY  FARMS  AND  FOR  DELIVERING 
differs  from  another.  MILK- 

Usually,  grass  seed  is  put  in  with  oats  or  wheat  and  always  pas- 
tured after  the  grain  is  cut.  A  large  number  of  grasses  are  sown  to- 
gether, as  the  grasses  adapted  to  the  soil  will  thrive  best.  A  favorite 
mixture  consists  of  meadow  and  tall  fescue,  perennial  rye  grass,  tim- 
othy, cock's  foot,  sweet  vernal,  and  red,  white,  and  alsike  clover.  Pas- 
tures that  have  been  down  some  time  either  run  to  weeds  or  establish 
themselves.  The  chief  difficulty  is  to  have  the  ground  firm,  and  the 
tramping  of  stock  does  much  good  if  the  ground  is  not  too  wet.  The 
pastures  should  be  cared  for  by  careful  stocking,  to  prevent  coarse 
grasses  from  seeding  and  running  out  the  smaller  grasses.  If  the 
coarse  grasses  predominate, 
the  pasture  then  becomes  open 
in  the  bottom.  Pasturing  a 
mixture  of  stock  is  best,  as 
they  prefer  different  grasses. 
Favorite  English  sayings  are: 
"Never  interfere  with  a  good 
pasture  when  once  it  is  estab- 
lished," and  "Any  laborer  can 


ENGLISH   FARM   AT  HAY  BARRACKS. 


look  after  arable  land,  but  it 
requires  a  master  to  look  after 
grass  land." 

Oats,  wheat,  barley  and  rye  are  the  grains  commonly  raised. 
These  are  harvested  by  cutting  a  swath  around  the  field  with  a  cradle 
and  then  using  a  self-binder  as  in  this  country.  The  crops  which  are 
cultivated  while  growing  are  mostly  roots.  Mangels  are  grown  ex- 


464 


BULLETIN  No.  140 


[October, 


tensively  for  stock  feeding  and  these  commonly  yield  from  twenty-five 
to  thirty  tons  per  acre. 

The  carts,  wagons,  tools  and  implements  used  by  the  English 
farmers  seem  very  crude  and  clumsy  compared  with  those  in  the 
United  States,  but  on  the  other  hand,  they  are  more  substantial  and 
much  better  made.  The  English  farmers  are  fast  seeing  the  con- 
venience and  advantage  of  our 
machinery,  and  are  not  only 
using  much  that  is  made  in  the 
United  States  and  Canada,  but 
are  designing  and  manufactur- 
ing implements  quite  like  our 
own.  English  Agriculturalists 
freely  admit  that  they  have 
learned  much  from  Americans, 
about  improving  and  develop- 


SHIRE   MARES  GENERALLY  USED  ON  THE 
FARMS  OF  ENGLAND. 


ing  farm  machinery. 


LIVE  STOCK 

The  Englishman  is  a  lover  of  fine  stock,  and  as  a  rule  has  a  much 
better  quality  than  is  seen  in  this  country.  The  horses  used  on  the 
farms  are  largely  Shires.  Being  of  the  heavy  draft  type,  they  are  fre- 
quently used  singly,  and  very  seldom  does  one  man  drive  more  than 
two  horses  at  a  time  on  the  farms. 


HERD  OF  DAIRY  SHORT-HORNS  WHICH  HAS  BEEN  BRED  ALMOST  ENTIRELY  FOR  MILK 
PRODUCTION  FOR  TWELVE  YEARS.  AVERAGE  PRODUCTION  6000  POUNDS  MILK  PER 
COW  PER  YEAR.  WHITE  COW  STANDING  PRODUCED  7000  POUNDS  MILK  WITH  FIRST 
CALF,  AND  OVER  11,000  POUNDS  LAST  YEAR.  AVERAGE  TEST  3.8  PERCENT  FAT. 


Nearly  all  the  cattle  seen  in  England  are  Short-Horns,  with  now 
and  then  a  few  Herefords,  Devons  and  Jerseys.  Most  of  the  milk  of 
England  is  produced  by  milking  Short-Horns.  Several  excellent 
breeders  of  Dairy  Short-Horns  are  breeding  for  milk  alone,  paying  no 
attention  to  beef.  In  this  way  two  classes  of  Short-Horns  are  being 
developed  that  are  almost  as  different  as  Holstein-Friesians  and  Aber- 
deen Angus. 


1909] 


DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS 


465 


FEED  AND  CARE 

It  is  estimated  that  on  good  land  it  requires  from  2^  to  3  acres  to 
keep  a  cow  a  year.     The  cows  are  turned  to  pasture  about  the  middle 
of  May,  and  the  time  at  which 
they  are  taken  off  in  the  fall 
varies  from  October  1  to  No- 
vember 1,  depending  upon  the 
season.  Cows  are  not  soiled,  and 
pasture  grass  is  generally  de- 
pended upon  to  furnish  the  en- 
tire feed  for  the  summer.  When 
this  is  done,  it  requires  about 
two  acres  of  pasture  per  cow. 
This  will  support  the  cows  un- 
til the  first  of  August,  when         RED  POLLED  cows  COMMON  IN  EASTERN 
they  are  then  turned  on  the  ENGLAND. 

aftermath  in  the  meadow,  and 

from  this  time  on  changed  back  and  forth  from  the  pasture  to  the 
meadow.  Grain  is  seldom  fed  to  cows  on  pasture,  until  after  the  first 
of  August,  when  a  small  amount  of  cotton  seed  cake  is  fed  to  many  of 
the  best  milkers.  Ordinarily,  the  winter  ration  for  dairy  cows  con- 
sists of  40  to  70  pounds  of 
roots;  15  pounds  of  straw;  7 
pounds  of  hay ;  and  8  pounds 
mixed  meal  and  cake.  The 
roughage  is  fed  three  times  a 
day  and  the  grain  twice, — the 
grain  being  fed  according  to 
the  milk  flow,  and  is  cut  off 

entirely  when  the  cow  is  dry. 
JERSEYS  AT  PASTURE.     SEEN  ONLY  OCCASION- 
ALLY IN  ENGLAND. 


At  the  Agricultural  Shows 
there  were  numerous  and  ex- 
tensive exhibits  of  condiments 
and  condition  powders  for 
stock.  Talking  with  stockmen 
on  the  farms,  it  was  learned 
that  there  is  an  enormous 
amount  of  these  materials  fed 
in  England.  It  would  seem 
from  this  that  English  stock- 
men, like  many  Americans, 
over-estimate  the  value  of 
these  preparations. 

As  straw  is  valuable  for 
fodder,  only  a  sufficient 
amount  is  used  for  bedding 


DAIRY   SHORT-HORN   THAT  TRACES  TO  VOL- 
UME. I.    OF    HERD    BOOK. 


466 


BULLETIN  No.  140 


[October, 


to  take  the  rough  edges  off  the  cobble  stones  or  brick  with  which  the 
stable  floor  is  paved.    A  noticeable  feature  is  the  care  taken  of  manure. 

The  best  farmers  have  sheds 
under  which  it  is  kept  to  avoid 
waste.  The  barn  yards  are 
paved  with  cobble  stones  to 
keep  the  cows  out  of  the  mud. 
During  the  summer,  cows 
obtain  their  water  from  water 
holes,  brooks,  and  tile  drains. 
In  winter  they  are  watered 
from  a  trough  in  the  yard,  the 

ENGLISH  LABORER'S  COTTAGE.  water  never  being  warmed,  as 

the  winters  are  not  severe. 


FARM  BUILDINGS 

The  buildings  on  the  farms  are  substantial,  usually  being  con- 
structed of  stone  or  brick,  and  having  slate  or  tile  roofs.  The  houses 
are  comfortable,  and  much  attention  is  given  to  neat  and  artistic  plant- 
ings around  the  homes.  Our  farmers  have  much  to  learn  from  their 
English  cousins  in  this  respect. 


CITY  MILK  SUPPLY 

England,  with  no  greater  area  than   Illinois,  has   a  population 
nearly  half  as  great  as  that  of  the  United  States,  and  the  question  of 
supplying  this  enormous  num- 
ber of  people  with  fresh  milk 
is  a  problem  of  magnitude. 

In  small  towns,  milk  is  de- 
livered warm  from  the  cow, 
twice  a  day.  In  the  large  cities 
it  must  be  cooled  to  stand 
shipping  and  the  unavoidable 
delay  in  delivery.  As  the  cli- 
mate is  cool,  it  is  not  as  neces- 
sary to  have  the  milk  chilled 
to  a  low  temperature  during 
the  summer  as  it  is  in  the 
States.  The  customary  price 
to  the  farmer  is  $1.40  per  100 
pounds  for  the  summer  six 
months,  and  $1.60  for  the 
winter  six  months,  making  an  „  c 

f     rt.1    er\  inn        DAIRY    SHORT-HORN   PRIZE   WINNERS   AT   THE 

average   of   $1.50  per    100  ROYAL  SHOW. 

pounds,    after  the   freight    is 

paid. 


1909] 


DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS 


467 


An  example  is  cited  of  a  dairy  company  distributing  milk,  one  of 
the  most  extensive  in  Manchester,  owned  and  operated  by  Mr.  Hail- 
wood.  He  started  in  the  business  while  young,  and  has  developed  a 
retail  trade  until  at  the  present 
time  he  owns  two  farms,  and 
runs  twenty  one-horse  delivery 
carts  and  eight  distributing 
shops  in  the  city  of  Manches- 
ter where  milk  is  sold  by  the 
glass  or  quart.  He  rents  a 
double  shop  in  the  main  part 
of  the  city  for  $4,000  a  year, 
where  he  serves  refreshments, 
and  employs  twenty  people. 
He  pays  the  laborers  that 
work  inside  his  dairies,  and 
also  those  who  deliver  milk, 
six  dollars  a  week. 

He    buys    from    20,000    to 

30,000  pounds  of  milk  a  day,  selling  it  at  6  cents  a  quart  in  summer  and 
7  cents  in  winter.  Most  of  the  milk  is  delivered  in  bulk  and  in  pint  and 
quart  buckets,  none  of  the  milk  being  bottled,  with  the  exception  of  a 
small  amount  which  is  pasteurized  and  sold  in  small-necked  glass  bot- 
tles. He  sells  50  percent  cream  in  ten-ounce  jars,  at  12  cents.  If  the 
jar  is  returned,  1  cent  is  refunded. 


ClTY    MILK    SUPPLY    DEPOT,    SHOWING    MILK 
CHURNS    AND    DELIVERY    CARTS. 


DAIRY  SHORT-HORNS.    A  SOURCE  OF  LONDON'S  MILK  SUPPLY. 


Another"  example  of  a  dairy  company  supplying  a  city  with  milk 
is  a  concern  doing  a  high  class  business  in  one  of  the  smaller  cities. 
It  has  as  a  depot  an  excellent  two-story  brick  building  with  an  attrac- 
tive shop  in  front  where  milk  is  sold  by  the  glass,  or  in  larger  quanti- 
ties. The  floors  are  of  cement  and  the  walls  of  white  glazed  brick. 
One  entire  side  of  the  building  and  a  portion  of  the  roof  are  of  glass, 
giving  ample  light  in  the  second  story,  where  most  of  the  milk  is 
handled.  A  wash  room  for  cleaning  cans  and  dairy  utensils  is  fitted 


468  BULLETIN  No.  140  [October, 

up  with  every  needed  appliance  and  a  large  boiler  furnishes  steam  for 
power  and  sterilizing.  There  is  also  a  churn  room  where  any  milk  or 
cream  that  is  left  unsold  is  converted  into  butter.  About  7,000  pounds 
of  milk  are  brought  daily  to  this  depot  by  the  farmers  in  the  vicinity. 
The  milk  is  filtered,  pasteurized,  and  thoroly  cooled,  and  is  then  ready 
for  the  consumer,  The  twenty  men  employed  in  preparing  and  deliv- 
ering the  milk  are  required  to  wear  white  suits.  The  milk  is  delivered 
with  twenty  push  carts,  each  having  a  large  can  called  a  milk  churn 
swung  between  the  wheels,  and  attached  to  the  cart  are  also  several 
pails,  some  containing  cream  and  others  to  be  used  in  carrying  milk 
up  the  hills  where  it  is  too  steep  to  push  the  cart.  As  the  advantages 
of  thoroly  cooling  the  milk  are  not  appreciated,  they  incur  the  extra 
labor  and  expense  of  having  the  milk  delivered  twice  a  day  at  the 
depot  and  also  to  the  customers. 


England  has  practically  no  creameries  or  cheese  factories.  Nearly 
all  of  the  milk  not  used  for  direct  consumption  is  made  into  butter  or 
cheese  on  the  farm,  by  far  the  greater  part  being  converted  into  sweet 
cream  butter.  The  excellent  and  uniform  quality  of  the  butter  and 
cheese  used  on  the  tables  at  hotels  and  in  the  homes  of  England  is 
everywhere  noticeable.  An  Englishman  would  not  think  of  serving 
butter  of  as  poor  a  quality  as  much  of  that  found  on  the  American 
markets. 

As  the  population  of  England  is  over  seven  times  as  dense  as  that 
of  Illinois,  a  large  percentage  of  the  milk  produced  is  used  for  direct 
consumption  and  most  of  the  butter  and  cheese  consumed  has  to  be 
imported  from  other  countries.  The  United  States  is  enjoying  prac- 
tically none  of  this  trade.  Denmark  and  Holland,  by  studying  English 
tastes  and  demands,  have  captured  'the  greater  part  of  the  dairy  im- 
ports and  are  producing  them  on  land  worth  from  $500  to  $1,000  an 
acre. 


DAIRY  BUILDING  ON  LORD  ROTHSCHILD'S 

ESTATE. 


1909] 


DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS 


469 


IRELAND 


Altho  having  the  advantage  of  favorable  natural  conditions,  the 
Emerald  Isle  falls  behind  in  agricultural  progress,  both  as  regards  the 
peasantry  and  the  capability  of  the  soil,  and  it  naturally  follows  that 
the  dairy  industry  is  on  a  par  with  the  other  agricultural  operations. 
Being  directly  influenced  by  the  Gulf  Stream,  Ireland  has  a 
climate  which, — moist  in  summer,  moderate  in  winter, — exposes  almost 
20,000,000  acres  of  land  to  a  long  growing  season.  The  climate  and 
soil  are  especially  adapted  to  the  growing  of  pasture,  hay  and  green 
crops,  and  the  unique  natural  advantages  particularly  adapt  the  coun- 
try to  dairying  rather  than 
grain  growing.  The  general 
size  of  the  farriis  also  lends 
itself  to  the  intensive  methods, 
which  are  practiced  where 
dairying  is  rightly  conducted. 
Yet,  as  was  mentioned,  the 
agricultural  conditions  are  in 
some  respects  deplorable.  This 
is  especially  true  of  the  more 
densely  populated  region  of 
the  South-west,  where  the 
land  is  poor. 

In  the  North  of  Ireland 
there  is  much  mixed  farming, 
while  in  the  South  nearly  all  of  the  land  is  in  grass.  In  the  North  and 
Central  Eastern  parts  of  Ireland  the  farms  are  small.  The  owners  of 
large  estates  divide  up  the  land  and  rent  it  out  in  small  amounts  to 
numerous  tenants,  many  of  these  having  not  over  twenty  acres. 

In  striking  contrast  to  the  careful  housing  and  care  of  the  dairy 
cattle  in  England  and  Scotland,  Ireland  practices,  in  many  respects, 
the  loosest  kind  of  dairy  methods.  Excepting  near  the  larger  cities, 
where  a  constant  supply  of  milk  is  required,  the  cows  are  generally 
allowed  to  go  dry  in  the  fall  when  the  pastures  fail.  During  the  win- 
ter their  only  shelter  may  be  an  open  shed.  Many  of  the  barns  are 
small  and  have  no  loft  or  hay  room,  thus  necessitating  stacking  in  a 
moist  climate  where  the  hay  rapidly  deteriorates.  In  the  southern 
part,  many  of  the  cows  are  fed  nothing  but  hay  or  straw  thru  the 
winter.  As  the  supply  of  these  is  often  limited,  Spring  finds  many  of 
the  cows  so  badly  emaciated  and  in  so  weak  a  condition  that  they  can 
scarcely  get  up  alone,  and  it  takes  a  month  of  fine  pasture  in  the  Spring 
to  put  them  in  good  condition  to  produce  milk.  This  reduces  the  por- 


IRISH  FARMER'S  COTTAGE. 


470 


BULLETIN  No.  140 


[October, 


tion  of  the  year  when  the  cows  are  producing  anything  like  their  max- 
imum yield  to  about  three  or  four  months,  which  means  that  the  earn- 
ing power  of  the  farm  is  run  at  full  capacity  for  only  one-third  of  the 
time,  and  for  the  remaining  portion  of  the  year  not  only  the  stock,  but 
the  labor,  as  well,  is  partially  or  wholly  idle.  There  is  certainly  little 
profit  in  this  sort  of  dairying,,  and  its  effects  are  detrimental  to  both 
man  and  beast.  To  add  to  their  folly,  they  attempt  to  make  both  milk 
and  beef  from  the  same  cattle,  which  are  frequently  scrubs  and  good 
for  neither  purpose.  Still,  these  are  the  conditions  existing  in  a  large 
and  exclusively  milk  producing  district  of  Ireland,  where  the  cattle 
are  descendants  from  the  native  stock  which  have  been  crossed  with 
the  Short-Horns  for  many  years,  and  bred  for  beef  and  milk,  until  now 
they  are  almost  a  distinct  breed. 


IRISH  LABORER'S  COTTAGE. 


The  great  problem  is  how  to  supply  winter  butter  and  keep  the 
English  trade  the  year  round.  Cooperative  creameries  are  doing  much 
to  aid  in  this  respect.  Still  the  majority  of  farmers  persist  in  the 
"one-third  year  dairying"  method.  There  are  some  good  dairymen, 
yet  the  POOT  ones  do  not  learn  to  profit  by  these  examples  and  each 
year  the  pastures  are  consumed  with  but  comparatively  small  profit. 
Many  Irish  dairymen,  like  so  many  American  dairymen,  do  things  the 
easiest  way,  and  in  consequence  reap  the  small  end  of  the  profit. 

Notwithstanding  the  bad  practices  followed,  Ireland  has  800 
creameries  and  exports  about  140,000,000  pounds  of  butter  a  year, 
which  is  valued  at  over  $30,000,000.  If  Ireland  could  be  awakened 
to  her  natural  advantages,  breed  efficient  dairy  cows  and  feed  arid  care 


1909] 


DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS 


471 


for  them  properly,  she  could  easily  be  a  great  dairy  country.  Den- 
mark,— only  one-third  the  size,  and  lacking  the  natural  advantages  of 
soil  and  climate, — exports  over  twice  as  much  butter. 

Like  many  Americans,  the  Irish  dairyman  is  so  exceedingly  short 
sighted  that  he  cannot  see  that  an  extra  yield  of  2,000  pounds  of  milk, 
worth  $25  a  year,  in  a  single  year  will  alone  more  than  make  up  the 
difference  in  the  butcher's  price  between  a  special  dairy  cow  and  a 
dual  purpose  cow  at  the  end  of  her  lifetime. 

The  slack  methods  followed  by  many  dairymen  in  some  parts  of 
Illinois  are  but  little  better  than  those  in  Ireland,  and  without  im- 
provement it  must  follow  that  we  have  a  class  of  dairymen  who  are 
merely  existing  in  a  country  where  the  land  is  fertile  and  the  market 
for  high  grade  dairy  products  good. 


IRISH  cow  MARKET,  DUBLIN. 


472 


BULLETIN  No.  140 


[October, 


SCOTLAND 

The  dairy  region  of  Scotland  is  confined  almost  exclusively  to 
the  southern  part  of  the  country,  and  this  is  the  only  section  that  will 
be  discussed.  The  general  appearance  of  the  country  is  much  the 
same  as  that  of  England,  the  larger  portion  being  in  grass,  either  pas- 
ture or  meadow,  and  the  crops  grown  are  also  similar.  It  seems  like 
a  mistake  to  till  so  little  of  the  land,  when  compared  with  the  more 
intensive  methods  of  Denmark,  where  nearly  all  of  the  land  is  under 
cultivation.  Yet  grass  grows  so  luxuriantly  that  it  gives  a  fair  return 
per  acre. 


AT  THE  EDGE  OF  THE  VILLAGE  OF  FENWICK,  SCOTLAND- 


FARM  MANAGEMENT 

The  usual  rotation  is  oats,  oats,  hay,  hay,  pasture  for  from  five 
to  nine  years.  The  methods  of  seeding,  caring  for  the  pastures,  and 
harvesting  are  much  the  same  as  have  been  described  under  England. 
The  farms  vary  in  size  from  60  to  300  acres,  and  some  are  as  large  as 
1,000  acres,  but  the  average  is  about  100  acres.  On  a  good  farm  of 
this  size  are  usually  kept  24  cows,  7  or  8  two-year-old  heifers,  7  or  8 
yearling  heifers  and  the  same  number  of  calves.  Most  of  the  farms 
are  rented.  The  rent  varies  according  to  the  productiveness  of  the 
land,  and  averages  $7.50  an  acre.  As  a  rule,  land  valuation  is  not  in- 


1909] 


DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS 


473 


creasing.  In  some  sections  land  is  decreasing  in  productiveness  be- 
cause less  money  is  spent  in  keeping  up  tile  drains,  and  on  account  of 
lax  methods  of  farming,  one  of  the  reasons  for  the  latter  being  the 
lack  of  laws  protecting  the  tenant  farmer  from  the  unscrupulous 
methods  of  the  landlord.  The  present  laws  seem  to  put  a  premium 


CURING  HAY.    WHEN  DRY  THE  COCKS  ARE  PITCHED  INTO  THE  SMALL  STACKS  AND 
AFTER  ABOUT  THREE  WEEKS  THESE  ARE  TAKEN  TO  THE  BARN. 

on  poor  farming,  for  if  a  tenant  improves  his  farm,  making  it  more 
productive,  he  is  almost  sure  to  have  his  rent  raised  at  the  expiration 
of  the  lease,  and  this  all  tenants  very  much  dread.  As  a  rule,  a  tenant 
stays  on  the  same  farm  for  a  long  number  of  years,  and  occasionally 


BROAD,  ROLLING  PASTURES  OF  SCOTLAND.    AYRSHIRE  HEIFERS  IN  FOREGROUND. 


a  line  of  tenants  remain  on  the  same  place  for  one  or  two  centuries. 
Land  has  been  known  to  change  hands  three  times,  yet  the  same  line 
of  tenants  remain  on  the  farm. 

Scotch  dairymen  say  that  the  size  of  farm  most  profitable  is  one 
which  can  be  run  by  the  family,  without  hired  help,  which  is  often 


474 


BULLETIN  No.  140 


[October, 


expensive  and  inefficient.  Married  men  get  $225  a  year,  with  house 
and  potatoes  furnished.  Single  men  receive  from  $175  to  $190  and 
board. 

DAIRY  CATTLE 

In  this  section  of  Scotland  dairying  is  almost  the  sole  occupation 
of  the  farmers.  The  cows  kept  are  practically  all  high  grade  or  pure- 
bred Ayrshires,  and  as  a  class  are  efficient  and  economic  producers. 
Heifer  calves  from  the  best  cows  are  raised  on  all  the  farms.  A  good 
registered  Ayrshire  cow  brings  from  $125  to  $200  and  a  good  grade 
cow  $80  to  $'100.  Heifers  drop  their  first  calf  at  from  2*/2  to  3  years 
of  age.  The  cows  that  are  good  producers  are  kept  as  long  as  they 
are  healthy.  The  poor  milkers  are  disposed  of  while  young,  on  the 
dairy  market,  to  other  dairymen,  or  fed  for  beef.  In  many  herds  in 
Scotland  are  cows  twenty  years  old,  and  still  good  producers,  but  in 
herds  which  are  fed  heavily  on  grain  they  do  not  last  as  long,  and  the 
oldest  cow  is  not  more  than  twelve  years  old.  As  a  rule,  the  sires 


A  TYPICAL  SCENE  IN  AYRSHIRE. 


used  are  from  high  producing  dams,  rather  than  show  stock.  On 
farms  where  milk  is  sold  for  direct  consumption  the  cows  are  usually 
dry  for  six  weeks,  and  on  farms  where  cheese  is  made,  the  cows  are 
frequently  dry  for  three  months  during  the  winter.  The  best  dairy- 
men expect  to  receive  $100  per  cow  per  year,  when  the  milk  is  sold 
at  an  average  price  of  $1.40  per  100  pounds.  To  show  the  efficiency 
of  the  Ayrshire  cows  it  is  only  necessary  to  state  that  the  production 
on  18  farms  near  Kilmarnock  in  1907  reached  the  high  average  of 
6,920  pounds  of  3.9  percent  milk  per  cow,  including  heifers  with  their 
first  calf.  In  comparing  the  yield  of  the  Ayrshire  cows  in  Scotland 
with  the  cows  in  the  United  States,  consideration  must  be  given  to  the 
fact  that  the  cows  in  Scotland  are  fed  very  little  grain. 

About  one-half  of  the  cows  in  Scotland  are  milked  by  women  and 
girls,  and  the  average  is  eight  cows  to  the  milker.  Cows  are  milked 
regularly  twice  a  day,  and  in  most  herds  the  milkers  are  rotated 
around  the  herd  in  a  regular  order,  so  that  a  cow  is  not  milked  twice 
in  succession  by  the  same  person.  This  is  the  universal  practice  fol- 


1909) 


DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS 


475 


lowed  in  Scotland,  the  explanation  of  it  being  that  if  there  are  any 
poor  milkers,  they  will  not  spoil  a  given  number  of  individual  cows. 
In  this  particular,  Scotland  is  unique,  as  in  all  other  dairy  countries 
visited,  each  milker  milks  the  same  cows  regularly.  Scotch  dairymen 
admit  that  if  all  the  milkers  are  good,  it  is  best  to  have  them  milk  the 
same  cows  regularly,  but  if  some  of  the  milkers  are  poor,  it  is  best  to 
rotate  them  in  this  manner. 

There  are  two  types  of  Ayr- 
shires  in  Scotland;  the  show- 
type  and  the  producing  type. 
The  show  type  has  been  de- 
veloped for  the  show  ring,  and 
bred  for  beauty  alone.  The 
genuine  show  udder  must 
be  compact  and  closely  at- 
tached, both  before  and  be- 
hind. The  sole  must  be  flat, 
with  no  indentations  between 
the  teats,  and  the  udder  must  AYRSHIRES,  THE  DAIRY  cow  OF  SCOTLAND. 
not  protrude  behind,  but  be 

carried  up  even  with  the  thighs,  and  have  small  cylindrical  teats,  evenly 
placed  on  the  flat  bottom.  This  is  the  only  kind  of  udder  that  can  be 
shown  many  years  in  succession  and  not  become  too  pendant  for  the 
show  ring.  Any  intelligent  dairyman  knows  that  this  type  of  udder  is 
fleshy  and  does  not  belong  to  the  best  producers.  This  craze  for  tight^ 
close,  shallow  udders  started  in  the  show  ring  about  twenty-five  years 
ago.  It  has  been  of  untold  damage  to  the  Ayrshire  breed,  and  has  split 
the  breeders  into  two  factions, — one  of  which  is  breeding  for  show,  and 
the  other  for  production.  The  breeders  who  are  breeding  for  produc- 
tion belong  to  test  associations  and  keep  accurate  records  of  their  cows. 
The  latter  cows  have  good  udders  that  milk  well  away,  and  large,  soft 
teats  that  are  easily  milked.  One  of  the  best  authorities  in  Scotland 


AYRSHIRES  WAITING  FOR  THE  MILKING  HOUR. 


upon  .this  subject  says:  "The  show  ring  has  been  a  curse  to  the  Ayr- 
shire breed.  Ayrshires  would  be  a  different  breed  today  had  there 
never  been  a  show.  The  leading  exhibitors  of  show  Ayrshires  of  the 
flat,  fleshy  udder  type  have  not  made  money,  even  if  they  have  sold 
their  stock  at  large  prices,  because  they  did  not  get  enough  milk  to  bring 
up  the  profits.  One  of  the  leading  exhibition  herds  produced  only  half  as 


476 


BULLETIN  No.  140 


[October, 


much  per  cow  as  did  another  herd  bred  for  production  alone.  This 
shows  the  folly  of  running  to  fads.  You  American  dairymen  are  mak- 
ing a  great  mistake  in  allowing  showmen  to  be  your  importers,  as  they 
are  taking  over  on'.y  the  show  type.  By  this  means  you  are  losing,  to 

the  American  Ayrshire,  the 
advantages  of  our  record 
Ayrshires  in  the  economy  of 
milk  production." 

As  an  illustration  that  show 
Ayrshires  are  not  producers, 
the  ring  of  aged  cows  at  the 
Royal  Agricultural  Show  last 
year  is  a  -good  illustration. 
The  cows  placed  at  the  lower 
end  of  the  show  ring  were  at 
the  head  in  the  production 
class.  They  stood  as  follows : 

Inspection  class 1,  2,  3,  4,  5. 

Production  on  yield  of  milk 5.  4,  1. 

The  cows  receiving  2  and  3  in  the  inspection  class  were  not  shown  in 
the  production  class. 

Record  Ayrshires  are  gaining  rapidly  in  popularity.  At  the  High- 
land Show  Ayrshire  cows  must  produce,  the  night  and  morning  before 
the  exhibition,  36  pounds  of  milk,  or  they  are  not  eligible  to  enter  the 
show  ring.  This  has  the  advantage  of  preventing  the  cows  being 
bagged  before  showing.  To  prevent  fraud  in  all  competitions,  cows 
are  milked  out  in  the  open.  Foolish  fads  are  gradually  passing  away, 
and  at  the  present  time  color  does  not  count  for  much,  in  the  Ayrshire 
show  ring  in  Great  Britain. 


AYRSHIRE  CALVES  AT  FEEDING  TIME. 


PROMISING  YOUNG  AYRSHIRES. 


1909] 


DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS 


477 


FEED  AND  CARE 

The  cows  are  usually  given  nothing  but  pasture  during  the  sum- 
mer from  May  10  until  September.  After  this  they  get  the  after- 
math in  the  meadows,  which  keeps  them  until  about  November  1. 
Soiling  crops  are  not  fed,  ex- 
cepting some  cabbage  in  the 
fall.  The  amount  of  pasture 
required  per  cow  for  the  sum- 
mer will  vary  from  one  and 
one-half  to  three  acres,  de- 
pending upon  the  land.  Dur- 
ing the  winter,  dry  cows  are 
fed  some  roots,  and  all  the 
straw  they  will  eat,  but  no 
hay  or  grain.  Cows  giving 
milk  usually  receive  about  12 
pounds  of  straw,  6  pounds  of 


MILKING  TIME  IN   A   SCOTCH   STABLE. 
CEIVING  PAILS  IN  FOREGROUND. 


RE- 


hay,  and  some  grain, — the 
amount  varying  greatly,  de- 
pending upon  the  production  of  the  cow.  The  Scotchman  feeds  his 
good  producers  well,  but  does  not  waste  grain  on  dry  cows  or  those 
giving  a  small  amount  of  milk.  As  a  rule,  the  grain  consists  of 
bean  meal,  Indian  corn  meal,  oil  cake,  bran  and  dried  brewers' 
grains.  The  cows  are  turned  out  each  day  for  a  half  hour  during  the 
winter  to  drink  from  a  pond,  stream  or  trough.  They  are  given  warm 
slop  in  the  stable  at  mid-day. 

Calves  are  never  allowed  to  suckle  their  dams,  but  are  fed  whole 
milk  for  six  weeks,  then  skim  milk  or  whey  with  an  addition  of  oil 
cake  until  they  are  five  months  old.  After  this  they  are  given  nothing 
but  good  pasture,  when  it  is  available.  Yearling  heifers  are  maintained 
exclusively  on  pasture  during  the  summer,  and  in  the  winter  they  are 
given  oat  straw  with  2  pounds  of  cake  per  day,  or  hay  and  no  cake. 

FARM  BUILDINGS 

The  buildings  on  the  farms  are  usually  made  of  stone,  with  slate 
roofs.  These  are  naturally  substantially  built,  and  many  of  them  last 

for  more  than  a  century.  The 
buildings  are  usually  placed 
around  an  open  court,' — the 
house  on  one  side,  with  the 
cheese  room  and  cow  stable 
forming  the  side  adjacent  to 
the  house,  and  connected  witli 
it.  The  hay  barn  forms 
another  side,  usually  connect- 
ed with  the  cow  stable,  and 
the  horse  barn  and  tool  shed 


BUILDINGS  OF  A  SCOTCH  FARMER.  HOUSE 
IN  CENTER,  COW  BARN  ON  RIGHT,  AND  TOOL 
SHED  ON  LEFT,  FORMING  A  COURT  IN  CENTER. 


are  on  the  fourth  side. 


478 


BULLETIN  No.  140 


[October, 


The  cow  stable  is  always  one  story,  with  both  windows  and  ven- 
tilators in  the  roof.     The  stalls  are  double .. and  the  cows  head  directly 

against  the  wall,  with  no  feed 
alley  in  front.  The  floor  is  of 
cement  or  brick,  and  the  whole 
stable  is  exceptionally  clean 
and  sanitary.  The  sides  and 
stalls  are  kept  neatly  white- 
washed and  the  floor  is 
scrubbed  every  day.  These 
are  the  conditions  on  the  aver- 
age cheese  farm  in  Scotland. 


DAIRY  BARN  AND  HAY  BARRACKS  ON  A  FARM 
IN  SCOTLAND. 


CITY  MILK  SUPPLY 

The  method  of  supplying  milk  to  the  cities  and  towns  in  Scotland 
is  much  the  same  as  that  of  England,  which  has  already  been  described. 


MANUFACTURED  PRODUCTS 

Most  of  the  milk  not  used  for  direct  consumption  is  manufac- 
tured into  Cheddar  or  Cheshire  cheese,  and  this  is  almost  universally 
done  on  the  farm.  While  this  necessarily  involves  more  labor  than 
when  made  in  factories,  on  the  whole  a  better  quality  of  cheese  is  se- 


INTERIOR  OF  cow  STABLE.     DOUBLE  STALLS  DIVIDED  BY  GLAZED  TILE  PARTITION. 

THE  FLOOR    IS    PAVED    WITH    BRICK,    AND   TS    SCRUBBED  DAILY 


1909] 


DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS 


479 


cured,  and  the  extra  price  re- 
ceived more  than  pays  for  the 
increased  labor  involved. 

A  cheese  making  room,  al- 
ways having  a  cement  floor,  an 
abundance  of  light,  and  kept 
in  a  clean  and  sanitary  man- 
ner, is  usually  close  to  the  cow 
stable.  In  this  room  are  to  be 
found  all  necessary  utensils 
and  equipment  for  making 
cheese.  The  cheese  is  sold, 
wholesale,  for  about  sixty  shil- 
lings per  hundred  weight, 
which  is  $15  per  112  pounds. 
or  13^3  cents  per  pound. 

Comparatively  little  butter 
is  made  in  Scotland. 


FACTORY  WHERE  THE  MILK  ON  A  LARGE  FARM 
IS  MADE  INTO  CHEESE.  CURING  ROOM 
ABOVE.  NOTE  SUBSTANTIAL  CONSTRUCTION 
OF  BUILDING,  AND  VENTILATORS  ON  ROOF. 
SCOTLAND. 


HIGH  POINTS  IN  SCOTCH  DAIRYING 

For  the  American  dairyman,  the  striking  features  of  Scotch 
dairying  are  the  uniformly  good  cows  kept,  the  excellent  care  given 
them,  and  the  attention  paid  to  feeding  them  economically  on  a  small 
amount  of  grain,  never  wasting  concentrates  on  cows  that  are  not 
producing  heavily. 

To  the  Ayrshire  and  dairy  interests  of  America,  it  is  imperative 


BUILDINGS  ON  AN  AYRSHIRE  DAIRY  FARM.     IN  THIS  CASE  THE  STABLING  FORMS  THF. 
SQUARE  COURT  AND  THE  HOUSE  IS  OUTSIDE,  BUT  ADJACENT. 


that  the  Ayrshires  imported  be  not  of  the  show  type,  but  the  magnifi- 
cent producing  record  Ayrshires  so  often  seen  in  Scotland.  When  we 
consider  the  low  efficiency  of  the  average  cows  milked  in  America, 


480 


BULLETIN    No.    140 


[October, 


compared  with  the  average  Ayrshires  milked  in  Scotland,  it  is  easy  to 
see  the  great  possibilities  yet  unattained  by  the  dairymen  in  this 
country. 

To  the  American  cheese  maker,  the  excellence  of  Scotch  cheese 
is  well  known,  yet  the  secret  of  the  success  in  making  cheese  of  such 
a  high  quality  lies  not  so  much  in  the  skill  of  the  cheese  maker  as  it 
does  in  the  care  taken  of  the  cows,  stable,  cheese  room,  and  utensils, 
thus  keeping  the  milk  clean  so  that  it  is  delivered  to  the  cheese  vat 
in  almost  perfect  condition. 


A  LABORER'S  COTTAGE,  SCOTLAND. 


1909] 


DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS 


AGRICULTURAL  SHOWS 


481 


No  discussion  of  dairying  in  the  British  Isles  is  complete  without 
mentioning  the  influence  of  the  agricultural  shows. 

The  British  appreciate  an  agricultural  exhibit  as  do  no  other  peo- 
ple in  the  world,  and  if  there  is  one  thing  they  do  know  how  to  do 
better  than  another,  it  is  to  arrange  and  conduct  such  an  exhibition  in 
a  high  class  manner.  Their  shows  are  quite  unlike  American,  and  we 


PARADE  OF  DAIRY  CATTLE,  BATH  AND  WEST  AGRICULTURAL  SHOW,  ENGLAND. 

can  learn  many  valuable  lessons  from  our  British  cousins  in  this  par- 
ticular. No  horse  races,  side  attractions  or  catchpenny  schemes  of 
any  kind  are  allowed  on  the  grounds;  the  people  attend  to  learn  in- 
stead of  to  be  merely  entertained  by  some  fake  show,  as  is  too  fre- 
quently the  case  in  this  country.  Another  most  commendable  feature 
is  that  everything  is  in  readiness  the  morning  of  the  first  day.  AU  ex- 
hibits must  be  up  and  completed  the  night  before  the  show  opens  or 


JERSEYS  BEING  JUDGED.     ENDS  OF  DAIRY  SHEDS  IN  BACKGROUND. 
AGRICULTURAL  SHOW,  ENGLAND. 


ROYAL 


leave  the  grounds  at  once.  Coupled  with  this  fact  the  judging 'begins 
early  the  first  morning  and  is  vigorously  pushed,  thus  making  the  first 
day  much  the  best  of  all,  which  is  a  great  advantage,  as  it  makes  every 
day  interesting  and  people  are  not  obliged  to  wait  until  the  last  day  to 
see  how  the  ribbons  are  to  be  tied. 


482 


BULLETIN  No.  140 


[October, 


AYRSHIRES  IN  SHOW^  RING.       ROYAL  AGRI- 
CULTURAL SHOW,  ENGLAND. 


There  are  many  smaller  agricultural  shows  held  in  the  different 
shires,  but  as  they  are  quite  similar,  excepting  in  size,  a  description 
of  the  Royal,  the  Bath,  and  West  Agricultural  Shows  of  England  will 
suffice. 

The  general  scope  of  the 
work  of  the  Royal  Agricul- 
tural Society,  under  the  au- 
spices of  which  the  Royal 
Show  is  held  each  year,  is 
well  summed  up  in  the  Soci- 
ety's motto :  "Practice  with 
Science."  In  England  every- 
one is  interested  in  agricul- 
ture, from  the  King  down  to 
the  lowliest  laborer,  and  no 
man  is  considered  well  educated  unless  he  possesses  a  reasonable 
knowledge  of  the  subject.  The  entire  royal  family  hold  memberships 
in  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society. 

The  most  prominent  farmers  and  breeders  come  together  at  this 
show  to  study  the  best  specimens  of  live  stock  the  country  can  pro- 
duce and  to  exchange  ideas  as  to  the  best  methods  of  breeding,  feed- 
ing and  handling  live  stock.  They  also  see  the  latest  inventions  and 
most  improved  implements  and  machines  for  doing  all  kinds  of  agri- 
cultural work.  Some  idea  of  the  extent  of  this  exhibition  may  be 
gained  from  the  fact  that  the  grounds  cover  100  acres  and  the  exhibits 
are  placed  close  together.  This  show  has  not  been  permanently  lo- 
cated, but  has  been  moved  each  year,  thus  necessitating  temporary 
buildings,  which,  however,  are  very  comfortable.  Owing  to  the  vast 
amount  of  work  to  be  done  to  get  everything  in  readiness  on  grounds 
of  this  size,  the  work  begins  about  six  months  prior  to  the  show,  and 
by  the  time  the  opening  day  arrives  everything  is  completed. 


DAIRY  SHORT-HORNS  IN  MILKING  CONTEST.  ROYAL  AGRICULTURAL  SHOW,  ENGLAND. 

The  judging  began  the  first  morning  at  nine  o'clock  and  was  vig- 
orously pushed,  as  may  be  imagined,  when  we  consider  that  at  the 
Royal  there  were  about  700  entries  of  cattle,  the  same  number  of 


1909] 


DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS 


483 


horses,  and  nearly  as  many  of  sheep  and  hogs,  yet  the  judging  was 
practically  completed  by  noon  the  first  day. 

The  dairy  breeds  were  represented  by  Ayrshires,  Jerseys,  Guern- 
seys and  Kerreys,  the  Short-Horns  being  exhibited  as  a  strictly  beef 
breed,  the  same  as  in  this  country.  There  was,  however,  an  exhibit  of 
unregistered  dairy  Short-Horns.  The  cattle  were  paraded  each  morn- 
ing in  an  immense  ring,  which  was  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  admiring 
spectators.  In  the  afternoon  the  horses  were  paraded,  and  later  in 
the  day  judging  of  the  harness  classes  took  place.  There  were  at  all 
times  large  crowds  around  the  show  rings,  stalls  and  pens.  People 
came  from  all  parts  of  the 
British  Isles  to  attend  this 
show,  which  lasted  six  days, 
and  one  day  52,000  people 
were  admitted  to  the  grounds. 
The  amount  of  money  offered 
in  premiums  was  nine  thou- 
sand, nine  hundred  and  sixty- 
nine  pounds,  or  about  $50/000, 
exclusive  of  the  champion 
prizes  and  many  valuable 
medals  offered  by  the  differ- 
ent breed  societies. 

Besides  live  stock  there  was  an  extensive  exhibit,  numbering 
more  than  four  hundred  stands,  of  all  kinds  of  agricultural  and  dairy 
implements  and  machinery,  from  small  hand  tools  to  harvesting  and 
threshing  outfits,  and  a  large  number  of  wagons  and  vehicles  of  all 
kinds  and  descriptions,  consisting  largely  of  carts,  many  of  which 
were  heavy  and  high. 


GUERNSEY  STABLE.     ROYAL  AGRICULTURAL 
SHOW,  ENGLAND. 


ONE  OF  THE  AVENUES  IN  THE  DAIRY  AND  FARM  MACHINERY  EXHIBIT.  ROYAL 
AGRICULTURAL  SHOW,  ENGLAND. 


484 


BULLETIN  No.  140 


[October, 


The  most  attractive  part  of  the  dairy  exhibit  was  the  working 
dairy,  which  was  located  in  a  large  building  erected  for  the  purpose 
and  which  accommodated  forty  hand  churns  and  butter  workers.  In 
this  building  could  be  seen  some  kind  of  dairy  work  in  progress  at  all 
times  during  the  show.  Separating,  pasteurizing,  and  cooling  milk 
occupied  the  morning  hours  and  later  each  day  two  butter-making 
competitions  for  prizes,  by  dairymaids,  took  place.  These  contests 
were  well  filled  and  revealed  many  excellent  buttermakers.  There 
was  a  milking  contest  which  was  rather  a  novel  feature  and  created  a 
great  deal  of  interest.  Each  contestant  was  required  to  milk  three 
cows.  Dealers  in  dairy  apparatus  and  machinery  had  many  fine 
stands.  This  was  a  most  interesting  part  of  the  show,  for  both  the 
separators  and  utensils  used  were  quite  different  from  ours. 


WORKING  DAIRY.     BATH  AND  WEST  AGRICULTURAL  SHOW,  ENGLAND. 


It  is  difficult  to  describe  an  English  show  so  that  one  who  has 
not  been  in  attendance  can  really  appreciate  its  value,  but  a  week's 
stay  at  the  Royal  Agricultural  Show  of  England  is  well  worth  a  trip 
across  the  Atlantic. 


1.909] 


DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS 


485 


DAIRYING  IN  HOLLAND 

The  time  spent  studying  dairying  in  Holland  was  devoted  to  the 
richest  and  most  intensive  dairy  regions,  viz.,  the  provinces  of  North 
Holland  and  Friesland,  which  take  the  lead  in  both  quality  and  num- 
bers of  dairy  cattle.  It  is  to  this  section  of  the  country  that  the  fol- 
lowing description  is  devoted. 

On  the  first  visit  we  entered  the  country  thru  the  Maas  river,  and 
as  we  steamed  slowly  up  for  thirty  miles  to  the  city  of  Rotterdam  we 
received  our  first  impressions  of  Holland  with  its  numerous  canals, 
level  fields,  and  beautiful  herds  of  dairy  cattle.  The  richest  and  best 
agricultural  sections  of  the  country  lie  below  the  level  of  the  sea  and 
have  been  rescued  from  it  by  means  of  dikes,  canals  and  windmills. 


ROAD  ON  TOP  OF  THE  DYKE  RUNNING  AROUND  THE  ZUIDER  ZEE.  THE  WATER  IN  THE 
SEA  ON  THE  RIGHT  IS  12  TO  15  FEET  HIGHER  THAN  THE  LAND  ON  THE  LEFT. 
NOTICE  MEADOWS  DOTTED  WITH  CATTLE: 


Sailing  up  the  river  we  saw  cows  in  the  pastures  and  hay  being 
made  in  the  meadows  several  feet  below  the  level  of  the  river.  Com- 
ing into  port,  after  crossing  the  Zuider  Zee,  all  that  could  be  seen 
from  the  deck  of  the  steamer  was  the  roofs  of  the  houses  in  the  vil- 
lage. The  whole  country  is  a  perfect  network  of  canals  and  is  thickly 
dotted  with  large,  picturesque  Dutch  windmills.  Near  Zaandam  sixty- 
five  of  these  mills  could  be  counted  from  the  train  window  at  one 


486  BULLETIN  No.  140  [October, 

time.  In  many  portions  of  the  country  the  canals,  which  are  from  ten 
to  twenty  feet  wide,  are  not  more  than  ten  rods  apart.  The  water 
flows  slowly  along,  being  gradually  pumped  to  higher  levels  by  means 
of  engines  or  large  windmills,  until,  after  passing  for  a  long  distance 
thru  large  canals  with  immense  dikes  on  either  side,  it  finally  reaches 
the  sea. 

Something  of  the  energy  of  the  Hollanders  can  be  imagined  by 
considering  that  all  the  country  roads  are  either  macadamized  or  paved 
with  brick,  and  that  all  of  the  water  has  to  be  pumped  out  of  the 
country  and  kept  from  one  to  two  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  land. 
The  ditches  formed  by  this  drainage  system  are  divisions  between  the 
fields,  making  fences  unnecessary  excepting  along  railroads  or  .to  en- 
close small  paddocks.  A  passage  from  one  pasture  to  another  is 
afforded  by  a  bridge  over  the  canal,  or  sometimes  by  filling  in  earth 
over  large  tile,  so  as  not  to  obstruct  the  flow  of  water.  Posts  are  set 
on  either  side  and  a  gate  closes  the  passage. 


WINDMILL  AND  ENGINE  HOUSE  USED  FOR  PUMPING  WATER  FROM  CANALS  INTO  THE 
ZUIDER  ZEE  ON  RIGHT.  A  LARGE  STORAGE  RESERVOIR  EXTENDS  FROM  THE  MILL 
BEYOND  THE  ENGINE  HOUSE.  THIS  CONTAINS  A  RESERVE  WATER  SUPPLY,  AND  IN 
DRY  TIMES  CAN  BE  LET  BACK  INTO  THE  CANALS  IF  DESIRED  FOR  IRRIGATION  PUR- 
POSES. SEA  WATER  CANNOT  BE  USED  ON  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  SALT. 


Holland  contains  but  8,000,000  acres,  or  less  than  one-fourth  the 
area  of  Illinois,  only  one-third  of  which  is  really  good  land,  as  large 
tracts  in  the  eastern  part  are  merely  peat  or  barren  sand.  This  com- 
paratively small  area  of  land,  equivalent  to  one-twelfth  the  area  of 
Illinois,  has  developed  important  things,  agriculturally.  The  size 
seems  to  be  no  hindrance  to  progress,  as  over  five  million  inhabitants, 
noted  for  their  thrift  and  cleanliness,  make  their  living  on  this  small 
area.  Their  exports  are  $14,520,000  worth  of  butter  and  $12,480,000 
worth  of  cheese,  making  a  total  of  $27,000,000  annually.  At  this  rate. 
Illinois  would  have  to  export  $108,000,000  of  butter  and  cheese. 


1909] 


DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS 


487 


Most  of  the  farms  are 
owned  by  the  men  operating 
them.  These  energetic  farmers 
keep  their  places  in  the  best  of 
condition,  and  drive  to  town 
in  a  substantial,  well  finished 
two-wheeled  carriage,  behind 
a  sleek,  chunky,  active  horse. 
A  poor  farmer  is  seldom 
found,  as  the  life  of  the  Hol- 
lander has  been  devoted  to  the 
one  subject — dairying — a  n  d 
his  education  has  been  such  as 
to  make  him  appreciate  the 
importance  of  thoro,  careful 

methods.     His  children  are  well  educated,  and  in  some  cases  are  sent 
to  another  country  to  complete  their  study  of  foreign  language. 

From  an  agricultural  standpoint,  Holland  is  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting dairy  countries  in  the  world.  Tho  frequently  ignored  by 
tourists,  it  is  full  of  interest,  instructive  sights,  and  quaint  old  customs. 
Their  conditions  differ  so  markedly  from  ours  in  many  respects 
that  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  learn  much  from  them  that  we- can  copy 
directly,  yet  there  are  many  underlying  principles  which  are  worthy 
of  our  most  careful  study.  The  foresight  shown  by  these  people  in 
providing  permanent  roads,  buildings  and  equipment  for  their  dairy 
work,  and  many  of  their  cleanly  methods  could  well  be  studied  and 
copied  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic. 


REAR    VIEW    OF    FARM    BUILDINGS    SHOWING 
MANURE  PILE  WHICH  IS  TO  BE  SPREAD  ON 

THE  PASTURE  IN  AUGUST. 


FARM  MANAGEMENT 
» 

There  is  little  grain  farming  or  mixed  husbandry  in  Holland  and 
almost  no  stock  is  to  be  seen  excepting  dairy  cattle.  Dairying  is  the 
principal  occupation  of  the  Dutch  and  the  greater  portion  of  the  land 
is  either  in  pasture  or  meadow.  Milk  production  is  practically  a  grass 
proposition.  Plows  and  grain 
raising  are  almost  unknown 
in  the  intensive  dairy  sec- 
tions. 

The  farms  are  much  smaller 
than  with  us.  They  vary 
somewhat  in  size  with  the  lo- 
cality, but  usually  contain 
about  twenty-five  hectares,  or 
sixty  acres.  On  farms  of  this 
size  the  live  stock  will  usually 
consist  of  about  twenty-two 
cows,  nine  heifers,  forty 
sheep,  fifteen  pigs  and  one  or 
two  horses.  Of  this  land 


A     FAMILIAR     SCENE    DURING     SUMMER     IN     A 

HOLLAND  cow  PASTURE. 


488  BULLETIN  No.  140  [October, 

about  ten  hectares  is  devoted  to  meadow  and  the  rest  pastured,  as  dairy- 
ing is  conducted  on  a  strictly  grass  basis.  There  is  such  an  abundance 
of  moisture  that  the  grass  grows  very  luxuriantly  and  some  seasons 
great  difficulty  is  experienced  in  curing  hay. 

Early  May  sees  the  cows  turned  to  pasture,  and  the  method  of 
feeding  for  six  months  is  then  very  simple,  as  the  cows  only  crop  the 
grass  in  the  pastures.  It  is  rare  to  find  a  field  larger  than  five  acres, 
so  the  cows  are  easily  .restricted  to  a  small  area  and  are  frequently 
changed  from  one  pasture  to  another,  so  that  the  grass  may  be  re- 
newed in  growth  and  freshness.  A  drought  in  July  or  August  may 
cause  a  shortage  of  grass,  and  some  oil  cake  may  be  fed,,  but  as  a  rule 
the  cows  subsist  for  six  months  on  grass  alone.  An  exceedingly  wet 
season  causes  the  grass  to  grow  in  excess  and  if  it  is  too  wet  to  be 
cured  as  hay  it  is  cut  and  put  in  the  ground  or  stacked  and  covered 
with  mud  for  use  as  grass  silage. 


GATEWAY  TO  A  HOLLAND  PASTURE.  THE  CANALS  MAKE  FENCES  UNNECESSARY.  THE 
BRIDGE  OVER  THE  CANAL  IS  THE  USUAL  COMMUNICATION  AFFORDED  BETWEEN 
PASTURES. 


As  the  Dutch  dairy  farmer  has  nothing  but  grass,  and  no  land 
to  plow  or  crops  to  till,  it  would  seem  that  he  would  have  an  easy  time 
during  the  summer,  but  a  closer  acquaintance  with  his  methods  shows 
that  this  is  not  the  case. 

The  pastures  and  meadows  receive  special  care.  Thru  the  sum- 
mer the  pastures  are  gone  over  at  frequent  intervals  and  the  cow 
droppings  gathered  with  shovel  and  wheelbarrow  and  placed  in  piles, 
thus  preventing  the  waste  occasioned  by  fouling  the  grass,  and  the 
tufted  appearance  so  often  seen  in  our  pastures.  During  the  winter 
these -droppings,  having  decomposed,  are  again  spread  upon  the  pas- 
ture. The,  fields  are  usually  pastured  one  season  and  in  meadow  the 
next.  The  manure  from  the  winter  before  has  been  carefully  stacked 


1909]  DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS  489 

and  rotted,  and  the  liquid  confined  in  a  cistern.  In  August  this  well 
rotted  manure  is  hauled  onto  the  pasture  by  means  of  a  three-wheeled, 
one-horse  wagon.  The  manure  is  put  in  piles  of  two  to  three  hundred 
pounds  each,  25  feet  apart,  making  an  application  of  from  eight  to 
ten  tons  per  acre.  These  piles  are  later  carefully  and  evenly  spread 
over  the  land  and  after  each  pile  is  spread  the  man  goes  over  the 
ground,  hitting  the  chunks  a  glancing  blow  with  the  fork  so  as  to  pul- 
verize it  all  very  thoroly.  Besides  this,  the  cleanings  from  the  canals, 
the  mud  and  rank  growth  of  soft  reeds  and  water  plants  that  are 
yearly  removed  when  the  sides  of  the  canals  are  cut  down,  are  placed 
in  piles,  and  after  they  are  thoroly  rotted  are  applied  as  fertilizers  to 
the  land. 

Some  meadows  are  cut  twice  in  a  season,  and  under  ideal  condi- 
tions it  is  not  infrequent  for  the  grass  to  grow  as  much  as  fifteen 
inches  in  a  single  month.  Their  method  of  handling  hay  seems  crude, 
indeed,  to  an  American  farmer.  The  grass  is  cut  with  a  scythe  and 
raked  by  hand.  The  Dutch  farmer  claims  it  is  cut  closer  and  that  less 
injury  is  done  the  soft  sod  by  this  method.  When  once  begun,  the 
mowing  proceeds  uninterruptedly,  regardless  of  the  weather.  When 
partially  dry  the  hay  is  put  into  small  cocks  and  later,  as  the  curing  ad- 
vances, these  are  piled  into  larger  ones,  and  so  on  until  it-is  sufficiently 
dry  for  the  mow,  when  it  is'hauled  to  the  barn  in  a  one-horse  wagon. 
It  often  happens  that  these  piles  are  wet  thru  by  rain  and  have  to  be 
re-spread  and  dried,  so  that  the  hay  may  lose  its  greenish  color  and 
aroma,  but  mustiness  or  decay  is  never  permitted,  and  the  cows  relish 
the  hay  as  their  winter  ration. 

DAIRY  CATTLE 

One  of  the  first  things  that  attracts  the  attention  of  the  traveler 
in  Holland  is  the  large  number  of  fine  black  and  white  cattle.  Thick 
as  are  the  sheep  on  the  Cheviot  Hills  of  Scotland,  even  more  numer- 
ous seem  the  black  and  white  cattle  on  the  level  pastures  of  Holland. 
Everywhere,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  the  landscape  was  thickly 
dotted  with  fine  cows.  A  more  beautiful  dairy  scene  could  scarcely 
be  imagined.  History  tells  us  that  for  two  thousand  years  the  coun- 
try now  known  as  Holland  has  been  famed  for  its  cattle.  For  the  last 
two  or  three  centuries  these  cattle  have  possessed  good  dairy  qualities, 
which  have  been  gradually  improved  until  we  find  today  a  breed  of 
dairy  cattle  of  a  high  order  of  excellence.  Altho  only  a  small  percent 
of  the  cows  are  registered,  practically  all  look  like  pure-breds. 

Importations  of  Holstein-Friesians  to  this  country  did  not  be- 
come frequent  until  about  forty  years  ago.  but  they  have  spread  rap- 
idly, and  at  the  present  time  are  found  in  every  state  in  the  union. 

Successful  dairying  depends  largely  upon  efficient  cows,  keeping 
them  comfortable  at  all  times  by  properly  supplying  their  wants,  and 
treating  them  kindly.  In  this  particular  the  Dutch  cannot  be  excelled. 

In  establishing  so  fine  a  breed  of  dairy  cattle,  they  owe  their  suc- 
cess, in  no  small  degree,  to  the  careful  selection  of  their  breeding 
stock.  Only  a  few  of  the  choicest  bulls  are  kept  for  sires  and  the 


490 


BULLETIN  No.  140 


[October, 


greatest  care  is  also  exercised  in  selecting  females.  The  cows,  as  a 
rule,  are  excellent  individuals, — -a  threefold  method  of  selection  being 
employed:  first,  in  the  sire;  second,  in  the  young  calf,  judged  largely 
by  the  milking  qualities  of  the  dam ;  and  lastly,  the  greatest  of  all  tests 
is  applied, — performance  at  pail.  Not  till  the  cow  answers  this  satis- 
factorily is  she  accorded  a  permanent  place  in  the  dairy. 

In  America  nothing  but  black  and  white  Holsteins  are  eligible 
to  registry,  and  red  and  white  are  met  with  only  occasionally,  while  in 
Holland  the  red  and  white  are  seen  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 
In  the  province  of  Friesland  are  three  men  who  are  breeding  nothing 
but  red  and  white  Holstein-Friesians. 


MILKING  TIME  IN  HOLLAND. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  the  trip  thru  Holland  was 
a  visit  to  the  farm  of  Mr.  Kuperus.  For  many  years  this  gentleman 
has  been  one  of  the  largest  exporters  of  Hplstein-Friesian  cattle  to 
the  United  States  and  elsewhere.  He  has  an  exceptionally  fine  herd 
of  dairy  cattle  and  keeps  a  careful  record  of  each  cow  in  the  herd 
by  testing  the  milk  every  two  weeks.  The  average  yield  of  thirty  of 
his  best  cows  for  one  year  was  11,275  pounds  of  milk  and  394  pounds 
of  butter  fat.  The  average  lactation  period  was  306  days  and  no  cow 
was  milked  more  than  one  year.  His  best  cow  gave  in  329  days  18,986 


1909]  DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS  491 

pounds  of  milk  and  585  pounds  of  butter  fat.  He  has  one  Cow  with 
an  average  test  for  the  year  of  3.89  percent  butter  fat.  This  shows 
something  of  the  character  of  the  cattle  that  Mr.  Kuperus  is  breeding 
and  it  is  not  strange  that  he  has  won  many  prizes  at  the  different 
agricultural  shows  where  he  has  exhibited. 

At  the  present  time  there  are  over  250,000  cows  in  Friesland,  15r 
000  of  which  are  registered.  Test  associations  started  in  the  province 
of  Friesland  eight  years  ago,  and  today  there  are  over  two  hundred  of 
these  associations,  having  twelve  members  each. 

Cattle  markets  are  held  once  a  week  in  many  of  the  towns.  One 
section  of  the  market  is  devoted  to  discarded  dairy  cows  which  are 
sold  for  beef.  Another  section  is  devoted  to  springers  and  cows  in 
milk  which  are  to  be  sold  to  dairymen  in  South  Holland.  The  cows 
sold  on  these  markets  are  usually  of  an  inferior  quality.  At  Leeu- 
warden  there  was  a  large  market  for  heifer  calves,  which  go  to  South 
Holland  to  be  raised,  and  later  many  are  sold  from  there  to  Belgium 
for  milk  and  beef.  Registered  cows  of  good  quality  are  worth  from 
$120  to  $200. 


THE  cows  ARE  BROUGHT  INTO  A  SMALL  PASTURE  AT  MILKING  TIME.    As  SOON  AS 

DRAWN,   THE    MILK    IS    TRANSPORTED    TO   THE    CHEESE    FACTORY    IN    THE    CANS    ON 
THE  DOG  CART  AT  THE  GATE. 


FEED  AND  CARE- 

.  The  cows  are  turned  to  pasture  about  May  first.  During  the 
cold,  damp  days  of  early  Spring  the  cows  wear  blankets  in  the  pas- 
ture to  protect  them  from  the  weather.  At  milking  time  they  are  not 
driven  to  the  barn,  but  are  milked  in  the  pasture  or  a  paddock,  and 
the  milk  brought  back  with  a  horse  or  dogs  and  cart.  At  the  approach 
of  the  cold  winds  of  November  the  cattle  are  taken  from  the  pastures 
and  put  into  the  stable  and  not  let  out  again  until  the  following  spring. 


492 


BULLETIN  No.  140 


[October, 


The-  feeding  is  clone  by  the  farmer,  and  all  the  feed,  and  many 
times  the  water,  is  carried  in  between  the  cows  from  the  rear.  The 
winter  grain  consists  almost  entirely  of  oil  cake,  fed  only  to  the  heavy 
milkers  in  quantities  of  from  two  to  four  pounds  a  day.  The  principal 
feed,  however,  is  hay,  each  cow  receiving  nearly  thirty  pounds  daily. 
It  takes  the  great  capacity  of  these  cow's  to  handle  such  a  large  quan- 
tity of  roughage,  and  special  care  is  taken  to  see  that  they  are  always 
ready  for  their  feed.  The  cows  are  given  the  best  of  care.  They 
are  carefully  curried  and  their 
tails  suspended  by  a  string 
from  the  ceiling,  so  that  while 
the  animal  has  free  use  of  its 
tail,  it  can  never  get  into  the 
gutter  to  be  fouled.  Scarcely 
an  hour  passes,  day  or  night, 
that  the  cows  are  not  visited 
by  an  attendant.  They  are 
watered,  fed,  and  milked  with 
the  greatest  regularity,  and 

given  every  comfort  possible. 

5   ^     .        /       ,  CALF  MARKET.  LEEU WARDEN.  HOLLAND. 

Caring  for  the  cows,  gather- 
ing food  for  them,  and  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  the  product  occu- 
pies the  attention  of  the  Hollander  to  a  degree  difficult  to  understand 
unless  one  has  paid  them  a  visit.     Holland  is  often  called  the  cow's 
paradise,  and  it  well  deserves  the  name. 


'BEAST  MARKET/'  LEEUWARDEN,  HOLLAND,  WHERE  HUNDREDS  OF  FARMERS,  IN  THEIR 
LONG  BLUE  FROCKS  AND  WOODEN  SHOES,  GATHER  ONE  DAY  EACH  WEEK. 


1909] 


DAIRY  SIT-CKSTIONS  KROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS 


493 


•MARKET  DAY  IN  LEEUWARDEN,  HOLLAND.     A  BOAT  BEING  LOADED  WITH  cows. 


HOLLAND  Cow  STABLES 

It  is  not  easy  for  a  stranger  to  gain  access  to  a  Holland  home, 
but  it  was  our  good  fortune  on  both  visits  to  Holland,  in  company 
with  interpreters  who  were  acquainted  in  the  vicinity,  to  get  inside  of 
many  farm  homes  in  'North  Holland,  where  the  house  and  stable  are 
under  one  roof.  These  homes  are  models  of  neatness,  and  are  inter- 
esting in  the  extreme.  The  buildings  are  commodious,  the  roof  steep 
and  the  eaves  rather  low,  usually  not  over  ten  feet  from  the  ground. 


TYPICAL  HOLLAND  FARM  HOME. 


494 


BULLETIN  No.  140 


[October, 


The  walls  are  built  of  stone  or  brick  and  the  roof  covered  with  an 
ingenious  arrangement  of  tile  and  thatch,  giving  the  building  a  sub- 
stantial and  artistic  appearance.  The  one  building  contains  the  cow 
stalls,  wagon  shed,  hay  loft  and  living  apartments. 

The  houses  are  usually  rich- 
ly and  artistically  furnished 
— much  better  taste  being  dis- 
played than  is  often  seen  in 
America.  The  furniture  is 
of  good  quality  and  many 
times  some  finely  carved  old 
pieces  are  seen.  The  Dutch 
love  music,  and  a  piano  is  not 
infrequently  a  part  of  the 
household  equipment. 

The  stables  are  as  different 
from  what  we  are  accustomed 
to  in  America  as  one  can  well 
imagine.  A  cow  stable  in 
America  is  usually  an  untidy, 
uninviting,  and  in  many  cases  absolutely  filthy  place  where,  to  the  dis- 
grace of  civilization  human  food  is  produced.  In  Holland  a  cow 
stable  is  as  clean  and  carefully  cared  for  as  any  other  room  in 
the  house.  The  Holland  cow  stable  usually  contains  from  twelve  to 


SHOWING  THE  USUAL  LOCATION  OF  A  HOL- 
LAND HOME.  THE  BRIDGE,  AFFORDING  A 
COMMUNICATION  BETWEEN  THE  ROAD  AND 
HOUSE,  IS  CLOSED  IN  THE  MIDDLE  WITH  '  A 
GATE. 


FARM  HOMK. 


HOUSE   AND   COW   STABLE   UNDER  ONE  ROOF.      DOUBLE   DOORS   IN   BARN. 
WINDOWS   IN   PARLOR. 


1909] 


DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS 


495 


sixteen  double  stalls,  the  floor  of  which  is  raised  about  eighteen  inches. 
In  one  stable  this  portion  of  the  floor  was  covered  during  the  summer 
with  small  white  sea  shells;  in  another  it  was  covered  with  matting, 
while  the  floor  behind  the  stalls  was  of  polished  stone.  The  wood- 
work in  all  of  the  stables  was  neatly  painted  a  bright  blue.  Some  are 
elaborately  appointed.  On  the  floor  of  one  stable,  around  each  stall 
was  a  row  of  china  plates,  and  at  the  end  of  each  division  between 
the  stalls  was  a  milk  stool  on  which  rested  a  plate.  In  one  stable  a 
polished  copper  teakettle  occupied  the  stool  at  each  stall  and  the  parti- 
tions between  the  stalls  were  covered  with  fine  rugs.  The  small  semi- 
circular windows  in  front  were  draped  with  lace  curtains.  In  one  end 
of  this  room  was  exhibited  a  fine  specimen  of  wood  carving.  The 


A  TENANT  FARMER'S  cow  STABLE  "IN  HOLLAND.     NOTE  THE  RAISED  PLATFORM  AND 

DOUBLE   COW    STALLS   WITH    WINDOWS    IN    FRONT. 


family  frequently  occupies  a  portion  of  the  stable  itself.  In  several 
instances  the  dining  room  was  at  one  end  of  the  stable  and  either  a 
sewing  room  or  kitchen  at  the  other  end.  The  parlor  and  other  living 
rooms  are  separated  from  the  cow  stable  by  a  single  partition. 

When  winter  comes  the  plates,  shells  and  carpets  are  removed. 
The  cows  are  arranged  in  the  stalls  so  that  the  largest  ones  are  in  the 
center,  thus  giving  the  herd  a  more  uniform  appearance  and  causing 
them  to  make  a  more  pleasing  impression  upon  a  prospective  buyer. 
Since  so  many  of  the  cows  are  sold  for  dairy  purposes,  this  is  a  rather 
important  item  in  the  dairy  management.  Long  and  short  cows  are 


496 


BULLETIN  No.  140 


[October, 


lined  on  the  gutter  by  means  of  a  double  tie,  the  usual  rope  from  the 
horns  being  fastened  to  one  side  of  the  stall  and  a  trace  chain  at- 
tached to  a  wood  or  iron  yoke  about  the  cow's  neck  is  brought  back 
and  hooked  over  a  staple  in  the  floor  back  of  the  stall  partition,  thus 
preventing  her  moving  forward.  A  backward  step  would  put  the  cow 
in  the  gutter,  and  as  its  bottom  is  about  three  feet  below  the  stall 
floor,  one  step  over  the  edge  is  usually  sufficient  to  cause  the  cow  to 
remember  the  occurrence  and  recover  herself  on  the  slip  edge  that  pro- 
trudes some  four  inches  a  little  way  below  the  platform  on  which  she 
stands.  This  ledge  is  also  used  to  support  the  portable  approach  used 
to  span  the  gutter  while  placing  the  cows  in  the  stalls. 


A  WELL-TO-DO  FARMER'S  cow  STABLE  IN   HOLLAND.     STALLS  FOR  cows  DECORATED 

WITH    PLATES,    COPPER    TEA    KETTLES    AND    WOOD    CARVING.      LACE    CURTAINS    AT 

WINDOWS.    EDAM  CHEESE  CURING  ON  TABLE  AT  RIGHT.    THIS  is  THE  WAY  THE 

STABLE  IS  FURNISHED  DURING  SUMMER   MONTHS  WHILE  COWS  ARE  ON  PASTURE- 

CITY  MILK  SUPPLY 

The  greater  part  of  the  milk  consumed  in  the  large  cities  of  Hol- 
land is  distributed  thru  central  supply  houses  or  milk  depots.  A  visit 
was  paid  to  one  of  these  depots  in  Amsterdam  where  over  16,000 
pounds  of  milk  were  received  and  distributed  daily.  The  milk  is 
brought  by  wagons  from  farms  eight  or  ten  miles  out,  and  by  steam 


1909] 


DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS 


497 


canal  boat  from  a  greater  dis- 
tance. It  is  brought  in  tin 
cans  or  wooden  Casks  holding 
about  six  gallons. 

In  Holland,  as  in  all  other 
European  countries,  they  do 
not  appreciate  the  advantage 
of  thoroly  cooling  the  milk 
and  holding  it  at  a  low  tem- 
perature. In  the  smaller  towns 
it  is  frequently  delivered 
warm  from  the  cow  and  is  at 
best  very  improperly  cooled  in 


FARM  BUILDINGS  IN-FRIESLAND.  HOUSE  AND 
BARN  NOT  UNDER  THE  SAME  ROOF,  BUT  CON- 
NECTED. 


MlLK    DELIVERY    CART,    AMSTERDAM.       BOTTLED    MILK    IN    BOX    AND    IN    CRATES. 

MILK   IN   COPPER    CASKS. 


BULK 


FARMER'S  WAGON   DELIVERING  MILK  AT  DIS- 
TRIBUTING PLANT,  AMSTERDAM,  HOLLAND. 


the  large  cities,  thus  neces- 
sitating frequent,  delivery,  as 
the  milk  will  remain  sweet  but 
a  short  time  after  reaching  the 
customer.  Nearly  half  the 
milk  handled  by  this  distribu- 
ting house  is  delivered  in  long- 
necked,  small-mouthed  bot- 
tles. The  greater  part  of  the 
bottled  milk  is  pasteurized. 
Milk  is  sold  by  measure  and 
not  by  the  amount  of  butter 
fat  it  contains,  altho  objection 
is  made  if  the  butter  fat  falls 
below  three  percent.  The 


498 


BULLETIN  No.  140 


[October, 


farmer  receives  $1.20  per  100  pounds  for  the  milk.  The 
price  delivered  to  the  customer  is  four  cents  a  quart  for  whole 
milk,  two  cents  for  skim  milk,  and  twenty-five  cents  for  25  percent 
cream. 

All  milk  in  Amsterdam  is  delivered  by  hand,  either  in  a  cart 
pushed  by  a  man,  or  carried  in  pails  with  a  yoke.  The  supply  house 
which  we  visited  runs  fifty  delivery  carts, — a  man  and  a  boy  going 
with  each  qart.  The  bottled  milk  is  carried  in  a  box  in  the  middle  of 
the  cart  and  usually  on  each  end  is  a  brass  cask  having  copper  hoops 
and  handles.  As  the  Hollanders  pay  much  attention  to  appearance, 
these  are  kept  highly  polished.  'There  are  one  hundred  men  and  a  large 
number  of  boys  employed, — the  men  receiving  from  fifty  to  ninety 
cents  a  day  and  the  boys  ten  cents.  The  cheapness  of  labor  accounts 
for  the  popularity  of  hand  delivery. 


CHEESE  MARKET,  ALKMAAR,  HOLLAND.     SHOWING  CARRIERS  ON  WHICH  CHEESE  is 

TRANSPORTED  FROM   THE   MARKET  TO  THE  BOATS. 


CHEESE  AND  BUTTER 

At  Rotterdam  we  made  a  more  familiar  acquaintance  with  the 
chief  product  for  which  Holland  is  noted,  namely,  cheese.  We  paid 
a  visit  to  the  commission  firm  of  Learning  &  Sons,  who  are  the  largest 
cheese  exporters  in  Holland.  They  have  shelving  capacity  for  600 
tons-  of  Edam  and  Gouda  cheese,  these  being  the  two  varieties  most 
commonly  made  in  Holland.  In  the  province  of  North  Holland, 
Edams  are  made  almost  exclusively,  and  until  recently  were  made  in 


1909] 


DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS 


499 


the  farm  dairies.  During  the  last  few  years  factories  are  coming,  in 
quite  extensively.  The  Edam  is  the  spherical  variety,  and  when  sold 
in  America  is  stained  red.  In  Holland  they  are  left  their  natural  color 
— a  deep  yellow — being  stained  only  for  export.  The  standard  size  is 
four  pounds,  but  some  are  made  as  large  as  eight  pounds.  We  saw 
one  installment  of  Edams  that  was  to  be  sent  several  hundred  miles 
up  the  Amazon  river,  and  each  cheese  was  encased  in  a  bladder.  We 
were  allowed  to  sample  cheese  of  nearly  every  description ;  some  were' 
made  to  the  queen's  taste,  and  others  so  tough  that  it  was  difficult  to 
get  a  trier  into  them.  The  price  ranged  according  to  the  quality, 
varying  from  seven  to  twenty  cents  a  pound. 

A  cheese  market  is  held  one  day  each  week  in  the  towns  and  it 
was  our  privilege  to  visit  the  towns  of  Leeuwarden,  Pemerand,  Hoorn. 


LOADING  EXPORT  BUTTER  AND  CHEESE  ON  BOATS  AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  MARKET-DAY  IN 

LEEUWARDEN,  HOLLAND. 


and  Alkmaar  on  market  day.  One  of  the  largest  markets  is  in  the  town 
of  Alkmaar,  and  as  these  markets  are  quite  similar  a  description  of 
this  one  will  suffice.  The  market  consists  of  a  government  weigh- 
house  and  a  square  block  of  pavement.  On  market  day  the  farmers 
drive  in  early  with  the  cheese  they  have  made,  pile  them  in  neat  piles 
on  straw  on  the  pavement  and  cover  them  with  a  canvas  to  protect 
them  from  the  sun  or  rain.  Cheese  buyers  representing  commission 
firms  from  the  different  parts  of  the  country  are  present.  Precisely  at 
ten  o'clock  the  gong  sounds,  the  market  opens,  and  the  scene  is  a  busy 
one.  In  about  two  hours  we  saw  60,000  cheese  change  hands.  After 
being  sold  the  cheese  were  removed  on  carriers,  each  borne  by  two 
men,  to  the  official  weigh-house,  where  they  are  weighed  and  then 
packed  into  boats  on  the  canal  near  by  and  taken  to  the  different  cities, 
or  stored  in  large  curing  houses  close  by. 


500 


BULLETIN  No.  140 


[October, 


1909J 


HAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS 


501 


In  the  province  of  Friesland  most  of  the  butter  and  cheese  is 
made  in  factories,  practically  all  of  which  are  cooperative.  There  are 
70  cooperative  factories  that  receive  on  the  average  25,000  pounds 
of  milk  per  day.  The  average  price  paid  the  farmer  last  year  at  these 
factories  was  4^4  Dutch  cents  per  lieter,  or  practically  one  dollar  per 
100  pounds  of  milk.  The  butter  sold  on  the  average  at  25  cents  per 
pound  and  the  cheese  at  10  to  12  cents. 


DELIVERING  MILK  TO  COOPERATIVE  CREAMERY  AND  CHEESE  FACTORY,  LEEUWARDEN, 
HOLLAND.     THIS  FACTORY  RECEIVED  MILK  FROM  2000  cows-    ABOUT  ONE-THIRO 

IS    DELIVERED   BY   BOAT   ON   THE  CANAL   AND  TWO-THIRDS    BY    WAGON. 


Most  of  the  butter  exported'  from  Friesland  goes  to  England.  It 
is  put  in  wooden  casks  resembling  a  small  barrel.  Each  cask  of  butter 
is  numbered  so  it  can  be  traced  back  to  the  creamery- and  to  the 
churning  from  which  it  was  made.  The  butter  must  contain  less  than 
16  percent  of  water  or  the  manufacturer  is  fined. 

We  visited  a  combined  creamery  and  cheese  factory  near  Leeu- 
warden  that  cost  $50,000.  This  fine  brick  structure  with  its  slate 
roof,  tile  floors,  whitewashed  walls  and  ceiling,  and  everything  built 
in  the  most  sanitary  manner  possible,  is  in  striking  contrast  with  most 
of  the  cheaply  constructed  creameries  and  cheese  factories  in  this 
country,  with  their  soft  wood  floors,  filthy  sewers,  and  general  unsani- 
tary conditions.  This  factory  receives  50,000  pounds  of  milk  a  day 
in  summer  and  16,000  pounds  in  winter.  It  comes  from  150  farms 
averaging  ten  cows  each.  The  milk  is  delivered  twice  a  day  and  paid 
for  according  to  the  amount  of  butter  fat  which  it  contains. 


502 


BULLETIN  No    140 


[October, 


FEWER  NATURAL  ADVANTAGES  THAN  ILLINOIS 

The  little  country  of  Holland  supports  a  population  nearly  twelve 
times  as  dense  as  that  of  Illinois,  and  exports  an  immense  amount  of 

butter  and  cheese,  without  the 
natural  advantages  enjoyed 
by  the  Central  States.  They 
do,  however,  have  cheaper  la- 
bor, and  the  milk  flow  is  not 
reduced  for  three  months  dur- 
ing the  summer  by  the  cows 
being  tormented  with  flies. 

Here  is  a  country  where  the 
land  is  worth  from  $500  to 
$1,000  an  acre,  and  in  many 
cases  naturally  no  better  than 
much  of  our  Illinois  land.  Yet 
these  people  pay  their  rents  or 
interest  on  the  investment  by 
producing  butter  and  cheese 
which  they  place  on  the  European  'markets  in  successful  competition 
with  that  produced  in  America  on  land  of  less  than  one-fifth  the  value. 
They  do  this  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they  cannot  produce  the  amount 
of  digestible  nutrients  per  acre  that  we  can  with  either  corn  or  alfalfa. 


MILK    HAULER    IN    HOLLAND.     ONE    HORSE 
WILL  HAUL  TWO  TONS  ON  THE  GOOD,  LEVEL 

ROADS. 


CREAMERY  AT  LEEUWARDEN,  HOLLAND.     UNLOADING  AT  RECEIVING  ROOM  ON  RIGHT. 
FILLING  CANS  WITH  SKIM  MILK  ON  THE  LEFT. 


The  secret  of  their  success  is  easily  understood,  and  may  be  stated  in 
a  few  words, — efficient  cows,  excellent  care,  cooperation,  and  superior 
quality  of  butter  and  cheese. 


1909]  DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS  503 


DAIRYING  IN  DENMARK 

Denmark  is  a  country  of  small  land  holdings.  The  chief  occupa- 
tion of  the  Danes  is  dairying,  and  in  wealth  per  capita  Denmark  is  next 
to  Great  Britain,  but  has  the  advantage  of  having  this  wealth  distrib- 
uted among  the  many.  One-half  of  the  two  and  one-half  millions  of 
people  in  Denmark  are  engaged  in  agriculture.  These  self-respecting 
farmers  live  in  a  style  of  refinement  and  comfort  that  is  surprising. 
They  are  intelligent,  industrious,  and  honest,  and  their  system  of  co- 
operation is  based  on  these  conditions.  Their  interests  are  those  of  a 
small  nation  given  up  largely  to  one  occupation  and  one  aim  so  that 
the  difficulties  of  one  are  experienced  by  the  many,  and  that  which  is 
beneficial  to  one  is  a  benefit  to  the  country  as  a  whole. 

It  is  important  for  the  American  dairyman  to  consider  briefly  the 
recent  history  of  the  agricultural  conditions  of  Denmark  and  what  has 
brought  about  the  marvelous  dairy  development.  After  the  Napole- 
onic wars  the  country  was  worn  and  wasted.  When  only  partly  re- 
covered, the  Prussian  war  of  1864  again  brought  great  agricultural  and 
commercial  depression.  At  this  time  the  chief  agricultural  pursuit 
was  wheat  raising,  and  it  did  not  take  the  shrewd,  far-seeing  mind  of 
the  Dane  long  to  discover  that  a  continuance  of  wheat  raising  on  the 
already  worn  and  impoverished  soil  was  not  in  accordance  with  sound, 
economic  principles.  Some  radical  changes  in  their  general  methods 
of  farming  were  imperative  if  they  were  to  prosper  in  any  marked  de- 
gree. It  is  because  of  these  facts,  coupled  with  their  present  pros- 
perous conditions,  that  every  American  farmer  should  study  what  has 
taken  place  in  Denmark,  agriculturally,  in  the  last  forty  years.  Some 
of  the  factors  that  led  to  their  success  are  here  noted. 

The  history  of  the  rise  of  dairying  in  Denmark  is  one  of  the  most 
interesting  and  instructive  chapters  in  Agriculture.  It  is  only  a  gen- 
eration ago  that  fhe  Danes  changed  from  wheat  raising  to  livestock, 
and  the  cows  of  the  country  were  .very  inferior  dairy  animals,  but  by  a 
course  of  careful,  persistent  and  systematic  selection  and  cooperation 
they  have  built  up  two  strictly  dairy  breeds  of  a  high  order,  and  an 
efficient  system  of  cropping  adapted  to  the  largest  possible  production 
of  milk.  To  show  what  Denmark  is  producing  it  is  only  necessary  to 
mention  that  she  exports  annually  $87,000,000  worth  of  butter,  bacon 
and  eggs,  nearly  all  of  which  go  to  Great  Britain. 

As  a  part  of  the  general  movement  for  reconstruction,  the  increase 
of  the  high  schools  and  all  other  agencies  of  education  formed  no  small 
part.  The  number  of  small  holdings  was  also  increased  and  a  gen- 
eral system  of  cooperation  started  which  was  followed  later  by  gov- 
ernment assistance.  Each  community,  with  the  -help  of  its  neighbors 
and  the  government,  lias  worked  out  its  own  plan,  based  on  the  prin- 
ciples of  economic  production  and  co-operation.  It  is  on  these  two 
principles  that  Danish  agriculture  is  built.  While  the  size  of  the 


504 


BULLETIN  No.  140 


[October, 


country  lends  much  to  the  possibility  of  a  national  system  of  co- 
operation, the  fact  that  the  United  States  is  so  large  and  has  such 
varying  aims  and  conditions  does  not  prevent  the  application  of  econ- 
omic methods,  nor  does  it  in  any  way  hinder  the  development  of  suc- 
cessfully planned  community  cooperative  interests, — interests,  which 
would  greatly  aid  in  the  establishment  of  a  uniform  product,  a  depend- 
able basis  of  supply,  and  constant  markets. 

FARM  MANAGEMENT 

Lying  as  it  does,  with  the  narrow  peninsula  exposed  to  the  cold 
north  winds,  and  the  islands  in  a  land  locked  sea,  Denmark  exposes  its 
area  to  varying  climatic  conditions  and  contains  markedly  different 
soils.  Compared  with  the  sandy  lands  of  the  northern  peninsula,  the 
warm,  rich  soils  of  the  islands  are  much  mgre  productive  and  enjoy  a 
longer  season  of  growth,  calling  for  different  management.  It  should 
be  kept  in  mind  that  the  country  contains  less  than  15,000  square 
miles,  or  only  one-fourth  the  area  of  Illinois.  On  the  whole,  the  land 
is  naturally  poor  and  the  climate  not  congenial.  The  country  lies  low 
and  is  either  flat  or  undulating.  The  summers  are  comfortable,  but  so 
short  and  dry  that  oats  have  only  time  to  mature,  and  of  course  Indian 
corn  cannot  be  raised.  The  cows  have  to  be  kept  indoors  more  than 
half  the  year. 


A    TYPK 


DANISH  FARMER  AND  HIS  HOME 


The  two  significant  and  important  factors  in  Danish  agriculture 
are  that  ninety  percent  of  the  land  is  owned  by  the  men  operating  it, 
and  that  the  greater  part  of  the  country  is  under  cultivation.  The 
British  farmer  has  sought  economy  in  putting  more  land  to  grass  and 
thus  saving  labor,  while  the  Danish  farmer  has  found  success  in  the  op- 
posite direction.  About  the  only  resource  of  the  Danes  is  their  land, 
and,  altho  it  is  in  many  places  poor  by  nature,  they  have  made  the  most 
of  it.  Improved  land  laws  and  systems  of  land  tenure,  with  education 


1909] 


DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS 


505 


and  cooperation,  have  gradually  changed  the  agricultural  conditions 
of  Denmark  from  distress  to  prosperity.  Large  estates  have  been  di- 
vided into  small  farms  that  are  now  tilled  by  their  owners.  The  care- 
less methods  of  former  days  have  given  place  to  an  intensive  and  skill- 
ful dairying.  The  beef  producing  cattle  have  been  displaced  by  dairy 
cows  until  they  hold  full  sway 
on  almost  every  farm  and 
have  brought  success  and 
prosperity  to  Denmark. 

The  farms  vary  in  size  from 
ten  to  three  hundred  acres,  the 
average  being  about  fifty 
acres.  The  whole  country  is 
given  up  to  the  most  intensive 
methods  of  agriculture,  about 
seventy  percent  of  the  farm 
land  being  under  cultivation, 
and  the  thirty  percent,  that  is 
in  grass,  is  not  pastured.  A 
seven  year  rotation  is  in  general  practice,  as  follows : 

First  year Clover  and  grass 

Second  year Clover  and  grass 

Third  year Rye 

Fourth    year Wheat 

Fifth  year Roots 

Sixth  year Barley 

Seventh  year Oats 

The  land  is  in  grass  only  two  years.  The  first  year  it  usually 
grows  a  strong  crop  of  rye,  grass  and  clover.  Part  of  this  is  carted  to 
the  barn  and  fed  to  the  cows  green,  part  is  eaten  off  by  the  cows  being 
tethered  on  it.  and  the  remainder  is  made  into  hay.  The  second  year 


A   LARGE   WINDMILL   FOR   GRINDING  GRAIN. 


DANISH  FARM  COTTAGES. 


in  grass,  the  land  is  treated  the  last  of  April  or  first  of  May  with  the 
liquid  manure  which  every  farmer  carefully  saves  in  a  cistern.  In 
this  way  they  produce  heavy  crops  of  grass,  for  the  first  crop  is  gen- 
erally good  as  a  result  of  previous  manuring. 


506 


BULLETIN  No.  140 


[October, 


The  rye  is  cut  green  for  early  soiling,  and  from  this  time  until 
fall  the  cows  are  either  soiled  with  green  feed  in  the  barn  or  tethered 
on  it,  or  both. 

The  aim  of  the  Danish 
farmer  is  to  keep  the  largest 
number  of  efficient  cows  pos- 
sible on  a  given  area.  On  the 
large  farms  a  cow  is  kept  to 
about  two  and  one-half  acres, 
while  on  the  smaller  farms  a 
cow  is  kept  on  even  less  area, 
as  more  intensive  methods  are 
practiced.  In  addition  to  this, 
enough  young  stock  is  raised 
to  keep  the  herd  supplied  with 
cows. 

From  their  feeding  of  cake 
and  meal  and  the  stall  feeding 
of  green  crops,  an  immense 
amount  of  manure  of  -fine 

quality  is  made,  and  with  their  careful  methods  of  husbanding  the  solids 
in  a  covered  manure  pit  and  the  liquids  in  a  cistern,  and  applying  in 
small  quantities  at  frequent  intervals  during  the  rotation,  the  producing 
power  of  their  land  is  increasing  from  year  to  year.  This,  again,  in- 
creases the  number  of  cows  they  are  able  to  keep  and  thus  from  year  to 
year  the  country  is  becoming  more  productive  and  more  dairy  products 
are  being  made.  But  even  the  Danes  have  not  yet  realized  the  full 
possibilities  of  intensive  dairying. 


A  DANISH  FARM  HOUSE,  WITH  ROSE  GARDEN 
IN  FRONT. 


OLD  DANISH  FARM  HOUSE. 


1909] 


DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS 


507 


FARM  BUILDINGS 

The  arrangement  of  the  buildings  on  the  Danish  farms  is  quite 
uniform.  They  are  usually  placed  in  a  square  around  an  open  court. 
On  the  smaller  farms  the  square  is  frequently  incomplete,  having 
buildings  on  only  three  sides,  while  on  the  smallest  farms  there  are  but 
two  buildings,  placed  at  right  angles.  When  the  buildings  are  in  a 
square  the  house  occupies  the 
side  of  the  court  toward  the 
road.  Opposite  this  is  the 
hay  and  straw  barn.  On  one 
side  of  the  court  are  the  horse 
stable  and  cow  stable  and  on 
the  other  side  the  granary, 
storage  for  machinery,  and 
the  pig  sty.  In  the  central 
court,  which  is  paved  with 
stone,  is  frequently  found  a 
large  Danish  pump  and  a 
horse  power  for  threshing  and 
cutting  hay  or  straw.  Outside 
of  this  court,  but  adjacent  to 
the  stable,  is  usually  the  ma- 
nure pit,  which  is  walled  up 
four  feet  on  the  sides  and  has 
an  impervious  bottom.  Many 
times  this  has  a  roof  to  pro- 
tect the  manure  from  waste  by  rain.  A  cistern  for  liquid  manure  is 
near,  and  if  the  manure  in  the  pit  becomes  too  dry  to  decompose  prop- 
erly, the  liquid  is  pumped  onto  it.  On  some  of  the  large  farms  where 
the  court  has  more  size  the  manure  pit  is  inside  the  court. 


CORNER  OF  DANISH  COURT  SHOWING  COTTAGE 
AND   STABLE.     STORK'S   NEST  ON   RIDGE  OF 

ROOF. 


A  LARGE  DANISH  BARN. 


508 


BULLETIN  No.  140 


[October, 


HOUSE  ON  LARGE   DANISH   FARM. 

This  determines  the  size  of 
the  mow  for  storing  hay  over 
the  cows. 

The  cow  stable  is  universal- 
ly built  with  a  feed  alley  in 
front  of  the  cows.  In  some 
of  the  stables  the  cows  head 
toward  the  center,  and  in 
others  they  head  toward  the 
wall,  but  are  never  placed 
against  the  wall  with  no  feed 
alley  in  front,  as  in  Scotland 
and  Holland.  The  floors  of 
the  older  barns  are  of  cobble 
stones,  but  in  the  more  recent- 
ly, constructed  ones  they  are  of 
cement.  The  cows  are  fast- 


Danish  buildings  are  con- 
structed of  stone  or  brick,  and 
on  the  older  ones  the  roof  is 
of  thatch,  held  on  with  cross 
sticks  at  the  ridge.  The  build- 
ings are  kept  whitewashed, 
and  with  their  thatched  roofs 
present  a  neat,  tidy  and  artis- 
tic appearance.  The  barns 
are  low  at  the  eaves, — not 
over  eight  to  ten  feet,  and  the 
height  of  the  peak  depends 
upon  the  width  of  the  barn. 


STABLE  CORNER  OF  COURT.     DANISH  PUMP  IN 
CENTER.     HORSE  POWER  ON  RIGHT. 


INTERIOR  OF  COURT  ON  LARGE  FARM.     DAIRY  ON  RIGHT.     Cow  STABLE  ON  LEFT. 


1909] 


DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS 


509 


CORNER  OF  COURT  ON  A  LARGE  DAIRY  FARM. 

ened  with  a  rope  around  the  neck,  rods  extending  from  a 
swivel  on  this  rope  below  the  neck  to  a  perpendicular  rod  fifteen  inches 
long  fastened  to  a  post  at  either  side,  giving  the  cow  a  considerable 
amount  of  freedom  with  her  head.  The  platform  on  which  the  cows 
stand  slopes  gently  toward  the  gutter,  the  latter  being  about  nine  inches 
deep  and  eighteen  inches  wide,  and  connected  with  the  liquid  manure 
cistern. 

The  houses  are  neat,  attractive  and  homelike,  with  frequently  a 
fine  rose  garden  in  front  and  large  trees  to  furnish  shade. 


INTERIOR  DANISH  cow  STABLE. 


510 


BULLETIN  No.  140 
DAIRY  CATTLE 


[October, 


The  million  dairy  cows  of  Denmark  are  confined  almost  exclus- 
ively to  two  breeds, — the  Danish  Red,  of  Zealand  and  the  islands,  and 
the  Jyske,  or  Black  and  White  cow  of  Jutland.  Both  of  these  have 
been  developed  within  the  last  thirty-five  years  from  the  native  stock 
of  the  country,  by  careful  selection  for  milk  production.  The  Red 
cow  is  a  product  of  a  cross  of  Schleswig  blood  on  the  native  rather 


LARGE  HERD  OF  DANISH  RED  cows  TETHERED  IN  SECOND  CROP  CLOVER,  AUGUST  3. 

scrubby  cattle.  The  result  is  a  race  of  fine  dairy  cattle,  weighing  from 
1000  to  1100  pounds.  They  are  dark  red,  with  black  muzzle, medium  size, 
deep  body,  medium  bone,  fine  skin  and  well  developed  udder  and  veins. 
The  Black  and  Whites  of  Jutland  have  been  developed  from  the  beef 
breed  in  use  in  earlier  times.  They  are  a  larger  breed  than  the  Red 
cows,  resembling  the  Holstein-Friesians  in  color  and  size,  but  are 


THE   BLACK   AND   WHITE   COW   COMMON   IN   JUTLAND.      HERD   TETHERED   IN   DISTANCE.. 


1909] 


DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS 


511 


shorter  in  leg  and  deeper  in  body  than  the  Dutch  cow.  Both  of  these 
breeds  have  a  distinctively  dairy  conformation  and  are  good,  economi- 
cal producers. 

The  development  of  the  breeds  to  such  a  high  degree  in  twenty- 
five  to  thirty  years  has  been  due  to  the  farmers'  skill,  intelligence  and 
common  sense  in  selecting  and  breeding  for  milk  production  alone,  and 
the  efficiency  of  these  cows  is  a  most  striking  example  of  what  may  be 
accomplished  in  a  short  time  if  good,  systematic  work  is  done  and 
common  sense  and  judgment  are  exercised.  While  many  of  the  bulls 
used  are  young  and  untried,  they  are  always  individuals  of  merit  and 
from  cows  with  large  records.  Only  the  best  heifers  are  raised,  and 
with  the  record  of  the  dam  and  the  qualities  of  the  sire  known,  their 
selection  is  comparatively  simple,  and  better  cows  can  be  raised  than 
can  be  bought  on  the  open  market.  The  price  of  cows  is  from  $80  to 
$90,  some  of  the  best  averaging  as  high  as  $100,  so  that  it  is  also 


COWS  AT  TETHER.      A  TYPICAL  SCENE  ON  A   DANISH   DAIRY  FARM. 

profitable  from  the  financial  standpoint  to  raise  the  young  stock  to 
replenish  the  herd.  Heifers  drop  their  first  calf  at  from  two  to  two 
and  one-half  years  of  age,  and  if  they  prove  to  be  good  producers  are 
usually  kept  in  the  dairy  until  twelve  years  old,  when  they  are  fattened 
for  beef.  In  fairly  good  condition,  cows  bring  5l/2  cents  per  pound. 
Old,  thin  cows  bring  less. 

FEED  AND  CARE 

The  cows  are  treated  with  kindness  and  every  effort  is  made  to 
have  them  comfortable  at  all  times.  On  many  farms  the  cows  are 
regularly  groomed.  Tethering  the  cows  on  grass  is  usually  com- 
menced the  fore  part  of  May,  for  a  portion  of  the  day,  at  least. 

The  soiling  crops  used  are  rye,  oats  and  peas,  oats  and  vetch,  and 
clover  and  grass.  These  are  hauled  to  the  barn  and  fed  green,  or  pas- 
tured off  by  tethering  the  cows  along  the  edge.  In  some  sections 
where  the  farms  are  small  all  the  land  is  under  cultivation  and  the 
cows  are  kept  in  the  barn  until  the  oats  and  peas  are  nearly  mature, 


512 


BULLETIN  No.  140 


[October, 


when  the  cows  are  tethered  on  these  during  the  month  of  July,  after 
which  they  are  too  ripe  to  be  well  relished.  The  cows  are  then 
changed  to  the  second  crop  of  clover  which  by  this  time  is  from  twelve 
to  eighteen  inches  high.  Some  dairymen  practice  partial  soiling  all 

the  time,  cutting  green  rye  the 
last  of  May  which  was  sown 
the  previous  September.  When 
this  rye  becomes  ripe  in  June 
they  feed  clover,  and  when 
this  is  mature,  about  July  1, 
oats  and  peas  are  fed.  After 
these,  the  second  crop  of 
clover  is  ready.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  in  the  cool 
European  countries  it  requires 
much  more  time  for  grain  to 
ripen  after  it  is  fully  headed 
than  in  the  Central  States. 

thus  making  the  soiling  season  of  the  £rop  much  longer.  It  is 
the  general  rule  to  pasture  until  short  of  grass,  about  July  1,  and  then 
soil  until  the  grass  is  good  again.  The  cows  are  left  on  pasture  until 
October,  the  exact  time  depending  upon  the  season,  thus  making  the 
period  cows  receive  green  feed  extend  over  nearly  six  months. 


TETHERED    IN    PLENTY.     HARVESTING    OATS 

THREE    FEET    HIGH,    AuG-    7. 


BRINGING  TETHERED  cows  TO  STABLE  AT   MILKING  TIME.     FIELD  OF  ROOTS 

IN    FOREGROUND. 


The  cows  are  seldom  turned  to  pasture  in  Denmark,  but  tethered 
by  means  of  a  halter  on  the  head  and  a  rope  or  chain  twelve  to  twenty 
feet  long,  which  is  attached  to  a  ten-inch  pin  driven  into  the  ground. 
The  cows  are  moved,  five  times  a  day,  from  three  to  six  feet,  depend- 
ing upon  the  amount  of  feed.  In  this  manner  the  crops  are  grazed  off 
without  waste  from  tramping.  The  great  advantage  of  this  system  of 
tethering  is  that  the  crops  can  be  allowed  to  grow  two  or  three  feet 
high  and  yet  be  eaten  down  without  wasting,  thus  producing  much 
more  feed  per  acre  than  can  be  grown  on  pasture  that  necessarily  must 
be  kept  cropped  fairly  close.  This  is  the  Dane's  chief  point  in  the 


1909] 


DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS 


513 


economy  of  feeding  during  the  summer.  Practically  no  grain  is  fed 
while  cows  are  on  grass.  A  few  dairymen  feed  a  little  oil  cake  to 
their  best  milkers. 


CALVES  TETHERED  IN  CLOVER. 

The  usual  method  of  watering  is  to  haul  the  water  in  a  tank  on  a 
low  wheeled,  one-horse  wagon  twice  a  day  to  the  tethered  cows.  Doors 
are  placed  in  the  top  of  this  tank  at  either  end,  and  by  proceeding 
directly  across  the  field  along  the  line  of  tethered  cows,  stopping  the 
horse  midway  between  the  tether  stakes,  two  cows  can  drink  at  the 
same  time,  making  the  task  of  watering  easy.  Some  take  the  cows  to 
the  stable  to  be  milked  three  times  a  day,  and  in  this  case  the  watering 
is  done  there.  During  the  winter  the  cows  are  watered  by  pumping 
into  the  cement  manger,  or  at  an  indoor  watering  tank. 


WATER  SUPPLY  FOR  TETHERED  cows.     INSTEAD  OF  DRIVING  cows  TO  WATER  THE  DANE 

DRIVES   THE  WATER  TO  THE  COWS. 

The  cows  are  put  into  the  stable  in  the  fall  and  not  let  out  again 
until  the  following  spring.  They  are  fed  all  the  straw  they  will  eat, 
and,  on  the  average,  4  pounds  of  hay,  40  to  100  pounds  of  roots,  and 
about  6  pounds  of  grain  per  day,  consisting  of  oil  cake,  bran,  barley 
and  oats,. — the  grain  being  fed  according  to  the  milk  flow. 


514 


BULLETIN  No.  140 


[October, 


MILKING  IN  DENMARK. 


Many  of  the  dairymen  on  the  small  farms  milk  three  times  a  day, 
having  ten  cows  to  the  milker.  On  the  large  farms  they  usually  milk 
but  twice  a  day,  having  from  fifteen  to  twenty  cows  to  the  milker,  re- 
quiring two  and  one-half  hours,  night  and  morning,  to  do  the  milking. 

The  cows  are  allowed  to  go 
dry  from  six  to  eight  weeks. 
To  supply  the  Danish  export 
trade  of  butter,  an  even  flow 
of  milk  is  required  the  year 
round,  and  most  of  the  cows 
freshen  from  September  to 
May.  The  male  calves  and 
any  heifers  not  needed  for  fu- 
ture cows  are  sold  for  veal  at 
from  three  to  four  weeks  old. 
Calves  are  not  allowed  to 
suckle  their  dams.  They  are 
fed  whole  milk  for  the  first 
week.  After  this  it  is  gradu- 
ally changed  to  skim  milk  and 
this  is  fed  to  the  heifers  until 
they  are  four  to  six  months 

old.  From  this  time  on  they  are  raised  on  pasture  during  the  summer, 
and  in  winter  are  given  hay,  straw,  and  roots,  and  sometimes  a  little 
oil  cake. 

Cow  TESTING  ASSOCIATION 

The  first  cooperative  cow  testing  association  was  organized  in 
1895.  Later  these  proved  so  helpful  a  factor  in  weeding  out  the  un- 
profitable cows,  that  they  have  increased  rapidly,  until  at  the  present 
time  there  are  about  five  hundred  associations  in  operation.  A  man  is 
employed  by  each  association  to  visit  the  farms  and  do  the  testing 
every  three  weeks.  He  weighs  the  milk  of  each  cow  and  keeps  an 
accurate  record  of  the  feed  consumed,  so  that  at  the  close  of  the  year 
the  dairyman  can  determine  the  net  profit  per  year  from  each  individ- 
ual cow,  and  which  of  his 
cows  are  the  most  efficient 
producers.  By  raising  the  fu- 
ture herd  from  the  best  cows 
the  average  production  has 
been  greatly  increased,  both  in 
milk  and  butter  fat,  and,  as 
would  naturally  be  expected, 
the  yield  per  one  hundred  feed 
units  consumed  is  also  greater. 
This  system  of  feed  and  milk 
records  has  been  a  prime  fac- 
tor in  improving  the  dairy  cat-  RETURNING  FROM  MILKING  cows  AT  TETHER. 
tie  of  Denmark  to  such  a  high  LABORER'S  COTTAGE  IN  BACKGROUND. 

degree  in  so  few  years.' 


1909] 


DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS 


515 


TOWN  DAIRYMAN'S  HOUSE  AND  cow  STABLE. 


CITY  MILK  SUPPLY 

The  question  of  a  pure  milk  supply  for  cities  was  first  solved  in 
Denmark  when,  about  1878,  Mr.  Busck,  an  able  and  philanthropic  man, 
attempted  to  supply  Copenhagen  with  absolutely  reliable  milk  produced 
from  cows  warranted  free  from  tuberculosis.  He  was  assisted  by  a 
board  of  physicians,  and  established  the  basis  on  which  the  city  is  now 
supplied  with  milk  as  nearly  perfect  as  can  be  obtained. 

The  real  problem  of  sup- 
plying a  large  city  with  milk 
occurs  but  a  few  times  in 
Denmark,  so  that  a  brief  de- 
scription of  the  methods  em- 
ployed by  the  two  large  com- 
panies of  Copenhagen  will 
give  an  idea  of  the  care  taken 
to  secure  the  proper  results. 
These  two  companies  handle 
over  100,000  pounds  of  milk 
a  day,  all  of  which  is  pro- 
duced under  veterinary  inspection  and  in  accordance  with  strict  rules 
laid  down  by  the  company.  Inspectors  are  employed  whose  duty  it  is  to 
see  that  every  producer  lives  up  to  these  rules,  which  require  cleanli- 
ness at  every  step.  As  soon  as  drawn,  the  milk  must  be  cooled  and 
kept  below  50°  F.  until  delivered  at  the  bottling  plant  in  Copenhagen. 
Here  it  is  sampled  and  tasted, — the  slightest  off  flavor  being  sufficient 
to  cause  its  refusal.  After  passing  the  inspector  and  weigh  can  it  is 
pasteurized  at  180°  F.,  cooled  to  below  50°  F.  and  put  into  small- 
necked  bottles  sealed  with  corks  or  expanded  pulp  covers. 

Milk  of  different  standards  is  sold,  but  each  is  distinctly  marked 
with  a  label  stating  the  quality  and  price.  Milk  sold  in  bulk  is  sent 
out  in  large  sealed  cans  from  which  it  may  be  drawn  only  thru  a 
faucet,  over  which  must  appear  a  statement  of  its'  quality.  In  this 

way  skim,  one-half  skim, 
whole  milk  and  cream  may  be 
put  out  by  the  same  wagon  at 
prices  varying  according  to 
the  quality  without  danger  of 
the  purchaser  being  defraud- 
ed. But  all  of  this  milk  is  of 
the  same  high  standard  from 
a  sanitary  standpoint,  as  it  has 
all  been  produced  under  the 
same  rules,  which  require  the 
dairymen  to  provide  healthy 
cows,  clean  barns  and  utensils, 
proper  care  and  feed  at  all 
CITY  MILK  DELIVERY.. 


516  BULLETIN  No.  140  [October, 

seasons,  and,  to  insure  proper  cooling  thirty  pounds  of  ice  must  be  pro- 
vided for  every  eleven  gallons  of  milk  produced. 

This  system  of  inspection  and  company  control  has  been  brought 
about  largely  thru  the  guidance  of  the  directors  who,  without  remun- 
eration or  money  interests,  serve  to  see  that  the  supply  of  milk  is  as 
nearly  perfect  as  possible. 

MANUFACTURED  PRODUCTS 

In  Denmark  dairy  manufactures  are  confined  almost  exclusively  to 
the  making  of  butter.  The  first  cooperative  creamery  was  started 
in  1863,  but  cooperative  creameries  were  not  generally  successful  until 
after  1880.  It  was  about  this  time  that  the  centrifugal  cream  sepa- 
rator came  into  practical  use,  and  this  gave  creameries  a  special  im- 
petus and  advantage.  From  this  time  the  dairy  industry  grew  with 
marvelous  rapidity  until  for  several  years  the  production  of  milk  and 


COOPERATIVE  CREAMERY. 


making  it  into  butter  in  cooperative  creameries  has  been  the  chief  in- 
dustry of  the  country.  There  are  1100  cooperative  and  300  private 
creameries  in  Denmark.  These  manufacture  over  200,000,000  pounds 
of  butter  a  year,  eighty  percent  of  which  is  exported  to  Great  Britain. 
The  milk  is  hauled  to  the  creameries  in  large  milk  wagons  which 
pass  along  the  main  roads.  Farmers  living  off  these  roads  bring  the 
milk  to  the  hauler.  Some  farmers  combine  with  their  neighbors  and 
haul  the  milk  themselves.  In  summer  the  milk  is  delivered  twice  a 
day  and  in  winter  once.  Stringent  rules  are  laid  down  in  regard  to 
cooling  the  milk  on  the  farm  and  in  not  mixing  morning's  and  night's 
milk.  All  foods  which  may  impart  an  objectionable  flavor  to  the  milk 
are  forbidden.  Milk  from  newly  calved  cows  must  not  be  sent  to  the 


1909] 


DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS 


517 


creamery  until  after  the  fifth  day,  and  milk  from  diseased  cows  is 
prohibited.  The  creameries  are  compelled  by  law  to  pasteurize  all 
skim  milk  by  heating  to  180°  F.  before  it  leaves  the  creamery,  to  pre- 


REAR  VIEW  DANISH  CREAMERY.     MILK  CANS  ON  RECEIVING  PLATFORM  AT  LEFT. 


vent  the  spread  of  tuberculosis  thru  this  medium.  Penalties  are  im- 
posed for  non-observance  of  these  rules,  but  the  loyalty  of  the  Danes 
to  their  own  organization  makes  it  rarely,  if  ever,  necessary  to  inflict 
these  penalties. 


MILK  HAULER. 


518 


BULLETIN  No.  140 


[October, 


A   MOTHER  OF   DANISH   BACON. 


When  the  Danes  decided  to  make  butter  for  the  English  market, 
they  of  course  had  a  large  amount  of  skim  milk  as  a  by-product,  and 
in  looking  for  a  way  to  get  the  most  money  out  of  this,  they  soon  dis- 
covered that  English  bacon  was  selling  at  a  high  price  and  at  once  set 
about  converting  their  surplus  skim  milk  into  bacon  hogs,  and  export- 
ing bacon  to  England  with  the  butter. 

The  creamery  buildings  are 
always  sanitary  and  substan- 
tial, being  constructed  of 
brick,  with  slate  roofs  and 
cement  or  tile  floors.  They 
have  a  tidy  appearance  and 
are  surrounded  by  a  lawn  kept 
neatly  trimmed  and  planted 
with  trees,  shrubs  and  flowers. 
The  machinery  used  in  the 
creameries  is  not  as  conveni- 
ent or  up-to-date  as  ours.  Of  the  1400  creameries  in  Denmark,  only  300 
have  the  combined  churn  and  worker, — the  remaining  1100  using  the  old 
upright  Danish  churn  and  table  worker.  Many  of  the  butter  makers 
still  use  six  or  eight  old  fashioned  shot  gun  cans  in  which  to  develop 
their  starter. 

The  secret  of  the  Danish  buttermakers'  success  lies  largely  in 
their  habit  of  thoroness.  They  first  construct  a  sanitary  building  and 
then  keep  it  clean  by  daily  scrubbing.  This  applies  equally  well  to  all 
the  machinery  and  apparatus  in  the  creamery. '  In  addition  to  this 
they  have  milk  delivered  to  the  creamery  in  almost  ideal  condition. 
Another  secret  of  the  Danish  buttermakers'  success  is  that  they  study 
their  business  thoroly,  becoming  very  proficient,  as  they  expect  to  re- 
main at  this  occupation  for  their  life  work.  Because  of  this  profi- 
ciency they  turn  out  a  product  of  uniformly  high  quality  which  is  the 
chief  factor  in  their  success  with  an  export  trade. 


DANISH  FARMER'S  WAGON  DELIVERING  BACON 
HOGS  AT  TRAIN. 


1909] 


DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS 
WHAT  WE  MAY  LEARN  FROM  DENMARK 


519 


To  show  the  marvelous  recent  development  in  Danish  dairying 
it  is  only  necessary  to  state  that  the  receipts  from  cows  at  the  present 
time  are  seventeen  times  what  they  were  thirty  years  ago.  From  the 
million  dairy  cows  of  Denmark  is  exported  200,000,000  pounds  of 
butter  a  year,  worth  $44,000,000.'  At  this  rate,  Illinois,  in  proportion 
to  her  area,  would  have  to  export  $176,000,000  worth  of  butter  an- 
nually. 


A  LOAD  OF  DANISH  BUTTER  FOR  EXPORT  TO  ENGLAND. 


With  all  our  boasting  about  rapid  progress  and  a  developed  civil- 
ization in  America,  we  are  a  slow  people.  The  Danes  owe  their  rapid 
rise  and  marvelous  success  as  a  dairy  nation  to  the  fact  that  they  were 
alive  to  the  demands  of  the  markets  of  the  world  and  strove  to  meet 
those  offering  the  greatest  remuneration.  To  secure  and  hold  these, 
when  a  practice  has  been  proved  of  economic  value  they  do  not  waste 
a  generation  or  two  in  adopting  and  putting  it  into  general  use. 

The  Danish  dairyman  understands  that  cooperation  is  one  of  the 
chief  underlying  principles  for  the  highest  success.  This  attitude  is 
in  striking  contrast  to  that  of  the  average  American  dairyman.  Co- 
operative creameries  are  frequently  pointed  to  in  America  as  the  only 
thing  in  which  cooperation  among  farmers  has  been  successful,  yet 
most  of  our  creameries  in  Illinois  started  cooperative  and  in  a  few 
years  either  closed  or  changed  to  independent  ownership.  This  shows 
in  a  most  striking  manner  the  lack  of  the  cooperative,  trustful  spirit 
among  American  dairymen,  which  has  proven  of  such  great  value  to 
the  dairymen  of  little  Denmark. 


520  BULLETIN  No.  140  [October, 

The  Danes  have  incorporated  in  their  people  the  important  knowl- 
edge that  money  is  not  the  only  thing  in  life,  and  that  each  man  owes 
a  duty  to  his  fellows, — that  the  interests  of  the  community, — yes,  the 
nation — may  prosper.  This  has  yet  to  be  instilled  in  the  hearts  of 
many  Americans. 

The  Danes  do  not  have  as  good  a  climate  or  soil  as  is  enjoyed  in 
the  Central  West.  They  have  small  patches  of  different  crops,  and 
cannot  take  advantage  of  four-horse  teams,  large  implements  and  ma- 
chinery, as  can  the  Americans.  They  cut  much  grain  by  hand,  and 
many  of  their  methods  are  laborious. 

The  important  question,  then,  is:  How  can  the  Dane  afford  to  import 
and  feed  our  corn  and  sell  his  butter  in  competition  with  us?1"  He  does  this 
by  being  a  close  student  of  all  the  principles  of  dairying.  He  understands 
that  dairying  is  an  occupation  requiring  brains,  thought  and  skill;  that 
he  must  have  efficient  cows,  economically  fed  and  well  cared  for. 

"When  such  a  state  of  dairy  intelligence  as  is  found  in  Denmark  exists 
among  even  the  American  farmers  who  pretend  to  be  dairymen,  there  will 
be  less  wasting  of  years  of  weary,  unprofitable  toil." — Hoard. 


library,  New  Mexico  State  College 

1909]  DAIRY  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  EUROPEAN  CONDITIONS  521 


FINAL  CONCLUSIONS 

It  is  the  history  of  ythe  world  that  it  is  not  the  largest  rtations 
that  have  done  the  really  great  things.  In  the  dairy  world  it  has  re- 
mained for  the  little  countries  of  Denmark  and  Holland  to  achieve  the 
most  economical  production  of  high  grade  dairy  products. 

The  production  of  clean  milk  is  what  every  American  dairyman 
must  come  to  before  we  can  hope  to  attain  for  our  dairy  products  the 
high  standard  of  excellence  so  conspicuous  in  the  dairy  products  of 
Scotland,  Holland  and  Denmark. 

In  general  European  dairymen  have  learned  most  thoroly  that  to 
make  money  in  dairying  the  first  essential  is  to  eliminate  every  "star 
boarder"  that  pulls  down  the  profits,  and  have  a  good  herd,' — a  herd 
in  which  every  individual  cow  is  an  economical  producer  of  a  high 
order.  They  have  also  learned  that  these  good  cows  must  be  well  and 
economically  fed  and  cared  for. 

The  American  dairymen  should  wake  up  to  a  full  realization  of 
his  natural  advantages  in  the  cheap  feed  and  good  markets,  and  go  at 
dairying  in  earnest,  realizing  that  it  requires  brains,  study,  and  common 
sense  to  succeed.  He  should  fit  up  convenient,  substantial,  and  per- 
manent buildings,  and  not  shift  from  one  phase  of  agriculture  to 
another,  but  stay  at  dairying  for  a  lifetime. 

In  no  country  does  everything  give  place  to  dairying  as  it  does  in 
Denmark  and  Holland,  and  in  no  country  in  the  world  are  the  farmers 
so  prosperous  and  self  respecting. 

There  is  no  dairy  country,  tho  the  land  may  be  worth  $1000  an 
acre,  that  has  the  natural  advantages  for  the  production  of  dairy  prod- 
ucts enjoyed  in  the  central  part  of  the  United  States.  None  of  the 
intensive  dairy  countries  of  Europe  can  produce  and  preserve  in  good 
condition  for  winter  feeding  of  dairy  cows  the  amount  of  digestible 
nutrients  per  acre  that  can  be  secured  in  the  Central  West  with  corn 
silage  and  alfalfa  hay. 

There  must  be  great  opportunities  ahead  of  the  American  dairymen  if 
Denmark  can  profitably  feed  our  grain  and  maintain,  thru  dairy  exports, 
her  place  as  one  of  the  most  thrifty  nations  of  the  world. 

To  embrace  these  opportunities,  the  American  dairyman  must  realize 
that  the  four  things  practiced  in  Europe  that  make  the  difference  bej 
tween  success  and  failure  with  the  individual  and  that  apply  directly  to 
the  American  dairyman  are:  a  herd  of  efficient  cows;  economical  feed 
and  care;  and  clean  methods. 


